Trump says he’ll be ready to veto Dem bills he thinks are ill-advised, evoking memories of Obama saying he has a phone and pen–a thinly veiled veto threat.
Trump says he’ll become ‘Mr Veto’…Maybe he’ll be a bit more like the Godfather–call him “Don Veto”.
President Donald Trump is preparing for a new political reality in Washington after Democrats captured control of both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections. But the president says he still holds one powerful weapon: the veto.
In an interview with the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast before the election, Trump predicted how he would respond to a Democratic-controlled Congress: “Well, if that happens, I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto.” He explained that repeated vetoes could eventually force Democrats to negotiate. ABC News
Speaking with CBS News on Election Day, Trump reinforced that position, declaring, “I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto.’” He suggested Democrats would eventually recognize that passing legislation without presidential cooperation could be a futile exercise. CBS News
The Constitution gives presidents the authority to reject legislation passed by Congress. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, a difficult threshold for either party to achieve. Trump has exercised that authority 12 times across his two presidencies, including twice during his current term.
The Democratic takeover threatens to stall much of Trump’s legislative agenda, while giving the opposition new authority to investigate his administration and block presidential appointments–they have done it before. But Trump maintains that veto power could ultimately bring Democrats to the bargaining table. The result could be two years of Washington gridlock — or a series of negotiated compromises between a Republican president and a Democratic Congress. It’s possible.
AI helped prepare this story
