Congress overrides Obama's veto of 9/11 bill

Families of those killed in the terror attacks on 9/11 are now legally allowed to sue Saudi Arabia, after Congress voted Wednesday to override President Barack Obama's veto of the legislation, the first override of his presidency.

The votes by the House and Senate were overwhelming. Members of both parties broke into applause on the House floor after the vote.

The Senate approved the override on a 97-1 vote, with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid the lone Senator voting to sustain the president's veto. Hours later, the vote in the House was 348-77, with one Democratic member voting "present."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said aboard Air Force One before the House had voted that the Senate's override is the "single most embarrassing thing the Senate has done since 1983," referring to the last time the Senate overrode a veto by such a large margin.

The remark immediately infuriated lawmakers and staffers.

"It's amateur hour at the White House," one Democratic aide said.

"Asking us to stand between 9/11 families and their day in court is asking a lot," Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said in response.

Obama told CNN's Jake Tapper Wednesday that members of Congress made a "political vote" by voting overwhelmingly to override his veto.

"It's an example of why sometimes you have to do what's hard. And, frankly, I wish Congress here had done what's hard. If you're perceived as voting against 9/11 families right before an election, not surprisingly, that's a hard vote for people to take. But it would have been the right thing to do ... And it was, you know, basically a political vote,"

In the House, New Jersey GOP Rep. Chris Smith urged members to override the President's veto, showing a poster of a New York Daily News edition after Congress initially approved the bill with a picture of Obama standing with the Saudi King and the headline: "Don't choose THEM before U.S."

Smith said, "The President chose the King and he vetoed the bill and we can correct that here today."

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, did not vote.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, on behalf of the Donald Trump campaign, said Wednesday that the President's veto an "was an insult to the families of those we lost on 9/11, and I congratulate the Congress for righting that terrible wrong."

He also criticized Kaine, saying, "The failure of Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, who was obviously afraid to show up to work today and stand with these Americans, is a disgrace."

Clinton has said publicly she supported the legislation. Kaine, who is campaigning and fundraising on Wednesday, would have voted to override had he been in attendance, his office said.

The bipartisan vote on the Hill was a rebuke of the President who had argued the Justice for State Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) -- which for the first time would allow suits in American courts against state sponsors of terrorist attacks inside the US -- could open the US government to lawsuits for the actions of military service members and diplomats.

Obama also warned it could damage America's relationship with Saudi Arabia, a troubled but key Middle East ally, and other allies who might be accused of terrorism.