The White House said Friday that it’s too difficult to speculate about whether it has enough votes to help spike a bill allowing 9/11 victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia when Congress votes to override President Obama’s expected veto.
Earnest said his White House legislative team is having trouble counting votes because “of the frequency we’ve heard in [lawmakers] voicing private concerns that don’t match the votes that were cast” in favor of the measure.
“We are certainly counting votes and having a number of conversations with both parties in both houses of Congress,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Friday afternoon, reiterating Obama’s intention to veto the measure by the end of Friday.
Obama has until the end of Friday afternoon to veto a bipartisan bill allowing families of the 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in federal court. Friday is the last day of a 10-work-day period that presidents have to veto legislation before it becomes law.
Earnest argued that the measure would make Americans, including military servicemen and women and U.S. diplomats working abroad, less safe because other governments could respond in kind and begin suing them in “kangaroo courts.” Others have argued that such a law would harm U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia.
Earlier Friday, Hillary Clinton said she would sign a similar bill allowing victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia.
Earnest declined to comment on Clinton’s support for the measure, other than to say, “I don’t think anybody was particularly surprised about that announcement.”
“I’ll let Secretary Clinton and her team explain her position on this … I didn’t characterize her position,” he said. “I will let her and her team do that.”
