Veto override — Congress's constitutional check on the President
When the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 majority in BOTH chambers. The originating chamber votes first; if it fails there, the second chamber never votes. Successful overrides are rare — Congress has overridden ~7% of all presidential vetoes historically. When they happen, they're a major signal of legislative-executive conflict.
- 1
Step 1 — Bill passes both chambers
The bill clears both the House and Senate by simple majority and goes to the President.
- 2
Step 2 — President vetoes
The President returns the bill to the originating chamber with a veto message explaining the objection.
- 3
Step 3 — Originating chamber overrides
The originating chamber holds an override vote. Threshold: 2/3 of members present and voting. If it fails, the bill is dead — the second chamber never votes.
- 4
Step 4 — Other chamber overrides
If the originating chamber overrides, the other chamber holds the same 2/3 vote. If both succeed, the bill becomes law over the veto.
Related civic-literacy warnings
When you see these chips on a vote-detail page, they point back to this explainer:
- veto_override_failure_keeps_veto