--- title: President Obama Set To Veto 9/11 Bill To Sue Saudi Arabia description: President Obama is set to veto Friday legislation that would allow 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia. canonical: https://time.com/4505583/president-obama-veto-911-saudi-arabia/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-23T12:28:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:47:21.266Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Set To Veto 9/11 Bill To Sue Saudi Arabia og:description: President Obama is set to veto Friday legislation that would allow 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia. og:url: https://time.com/4505583/president-obama-veto-911-saudi-arabia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt169f51c753bee29f/6988a6d88e0601622146787f/gettyimages-608959164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3059 og:image:height: 1721 og:image:alt: World Leaders Gather In New York For Annual United Nations General Assembly og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Set To Veto 9/11 Bill To Sue Saudi Arabia twitter:description: President Obama is set to veto Friday legislation that would allow 9/11 victims' families to sue Saudi Arabia. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt169f51c753bee29f/6988a6d88e0601622146787f/gettyimages-608959164.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Set To Veto Bill Allowing 9/11 Families to Sue Saudi Arabia > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 23, 2016 12:28 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 20, 2016 in New York City. U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters, September 20, 2016 in New York City. Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 23, 2016 12:28 PM UTC President Obama is set to veto legislation on Friday that would allow [9/11 victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia](http://time.com/4485557/911-septemer-11-families-sue-saudi-arabia-house-bill/). Obama has until midnight to veto the bill, which he thinks undermines sovereign immunity and will make U.S. diplomats and service members vulnerable to lawsuits. The White House confirmed Thursday that a veto will come before the deadline: “We believe this is a bad bill,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, [Yahoo News reports](https://www.yahoo.com/news/obama-set-veto-9-11-victims-bid-sue-235643811.html). “It’s why the president’s going to veto it.” But Congress will likely try to override the president’s veto, which would mark the first veto override of his presidency. A veto override requires two-thirds opposition. “If this bill were to enter into force, if the President’s veto were overridden, the United States government, U.S. service members, U.S. diplomats, and even, potentially, U.S. companies are at risk of being hauled into court in countries all around the world,” Earnest said Thursday. But Congressional leadership has signaled they believe they have the support they need for an override. “Our assumption is that the veto will be overridden,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, [CNN reports](http://us.cnn.com/2016/09/23/politics/september-11-bill-saudi-arabia-veto/index.html). 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