What Is It Called When Congress Overrides a Veto?

A veto is the decision made by an authority, such as the President, to not approve something, such as a new law. Traditionally, the Presidential veto is the kind of legislative rejection most often enacted in the political arena; however, on rare occasions, the House and/or Senate invokes the Congressional Veto Override, a process that allows Congress to set aside a Presidential veto.

The Congressional Veto Override must be voted upon by individual members of the House and Senate; a two-thirds majority in each Congressional Chamber must occur before the Congressional Veto Override can take effect. The U.S. Senate archives note that less than 10 percent of such Congressional actions have passed in the history of the legislature. An example of one such action was Congress overriding President Richard Nixon's War Powers Resolution veto in October of 1973.