1) The President did not outright say he will veto the coronavirus/government spending bill. But he very well could prevent it from being law, via a pocket veto.
2) Pocket vetoes are very rare. Congress has to be in the proper parliamentary posture for this possibility to be in play. But we could very well be in those circumstances now.
3) Under Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution, the President has ten days (Sundays) excluded to either sign or veto a bill. Keep in mind that because of the massive nature of the combo bill, the bill has not even been enrolled yet and sent to the President.
4) But here’s where the pocket veto comes into play.
5) The latest the current Congressional session can end is 11:59:59 am on January 3. That is the drop-dead time for the 116th Congress.
6) A President may in effect “veto” a bill by keeping it in his “pocket” and not signing it if it comes too close to the end of a Congressional adjournment.
7) Congress must adjourn sine die (pronounced sy-nee DY, and is Latin, for leaving without a return date) no later than 11:59:59 pm et on January 3.
In other words, Congress would have to get the President the bill by December 23 to prevent a pocket veto.
In other words, Congress would have to get the President the bill by December 23 to prevent a pocket veto.
8) Otherwise, the President could run out the clock on the Congressional session, effectively blocking any potential override attempt. The President would have to send it back to Capitol Hill with a veto.
9) If he failed to do so in the ten days/Sundays excluded window, then the bill would automatically become law.
Note that the President did not outright threaten a veto. And, it’s unclear that the President’s demands could even pass the House and Senate.
Note that the President did not outright threaten a veto. And, it’s unclear that the President’s demands could even pass the House and Senate.
10) Moreover, you just can’t “re-open” a bill like this for amendment. You can’t. It’s done. You have to start again.
Here’s another problem.
The government is currently operating on a seven-day interim spending bill.
Here’s another problem.
The government is currently operating on a seven-day interim spending bill.
11) Attached to the COVID bill is a $1.4 trillion spending package to fund the government through September 30, 2021. If the President vetoes the COVID/omnibus bill, or, if he fails to sign the bill by December 28, there is a government shutdown.
12) This scenario has the potential to get very interesting.
13) Also note that Congress really dragged its feet working this bill out at the end. The final products passed both chambers with overwhelming supermajorities. Well above the two-thirds thresholds necessary to override a veto.
14) Had Congress come to an agreement a few days earlier, the possibility of a veto or a pocket veto would not be in play. Congress could simply vote, in the waning moments of the 116th Congress, to override his veto on the coronavirus/omnibus bill.
15) But that didn’t happen. Negotiations lasted through the weekend. There was a computer glitch on Capitol Hill which delayed the House and Senate from considering the bill. And here we are.
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