The US Congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override a
presidential veto on a bill allowing the families of 9/11 victims to sue
Saudi Arabia, handing the first such rebuke to the Obama White House.
The legislation is part of a potential sea change in the kingdom’s relationships with the west over its alleged connection to religious extremism and its conduct of the war in Yemen.
Despite fierce last-minute lobbying by the administration and the Saudi embassy in Washington, the Senate voted 97-1 to support the bill, which President Barack Obama vetoed last week. Later in the day, the House of Representatives voted 348-77 to override the same veto.
In response to the bipartisan admonition from Congress, Mr Obama told CNN that the move was a “mistake”.
Read more: US Congress 9/11 vote raises heat on Saudi Arabia — FT.com
The legislation is part of a potential sea change in the kingdom’s relationships with the west over its alleged connection to religious extremism and its conduct of the war in Yemen.
Despite fierce last-minute lobbying by the administration and the Saudi embassy in Washington, the Senate voted 97-1 to support the bill, which President Barack Obama vetoed last week. Later in the day, the House of Representatives voted 348-77 to override the same veto.
In response to the bipartisan admonition from Congress, Mr Obama told CNN that the move was a “mistake”.
Read more: US Congress 9/11 vote raises heat on Saudi Arabia — FT.com
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