Presidential Vetoes
The Constitution of the United States has set up a check and balance system which Congress and the President must follow:
The Constitution of the United States – Article I, Section 7, Clause 2
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
Definitions:
Veto
“Article I, Section 7, of the U.S. Constitution states that “every bill” and “every order, resolution or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and the House of Representatives may be necessary” must be presented to the president for approval. If the president disapproves of the legislation and declines to sign the bill, he issues a veto, returning the bill unsigned to Congress.” (The Free Dictionary by Farlex)
Pocket-Veto:
“A pocket veto occurs when a bill fails to become law because the president does not sign the bill and cannot return the bill to Congress within a 10-day period because Congress is not in session.” (Wikipedia)
One of the options the Constitution provides the President is the power of the veto. Above we described the two types of vetoes available to the President: the veto and the pocket-veto. Here are the top Presidents who used those options the most and those who were most overridden by Congress:
Top 12 Presidents with the most total Vetoes
President Total Vetoes
Franklin Roosevelt 635
Harry S Truman 250
Dwight Eisenhower 181
Grover Cleveland 170
Ulysses Grant 93
Teddy Roosevelt 82
Ronald Reagan 78
Gerald Ford 66
Calvin Coolidge 50
Benjamin Harrison 44
Woodrow Wilson 44
George HW Bush 44
Top 10 Presidents using the Regular Veto
President Regular Vetoes
Franklin Roosevelt 372
Harry S Truman 180
Dwight Eisenhower 73
Gerald Ford 48
Ulysses Grant 45
Grover Cleveland 42
Teddy Roosevelt 42
Ronald Reagan 39
Bill Clinton 36
Woodrow Wilson 33
Top 10 Presidents using the Pocket-Veto
President Pocket Vetoes
Franklin Roosevelt 263
Grover Cleveland 128
Dwight Eisenhower 108
Harry S Truman 70
Ulysses Grant 46
Teddy Roosevelt 40
Ronald Reagan 39
William McKinley 36
Calvin Coolidge 30
Benjamin Harrison 25
Top 9 Presidents who had the most Veto Overrides
President Veto Overrides
Andrew Johnson 15
Harry S Truman 12
Gerald Ford 12
Franklin Roosevelt 9
Ronald Reagan 9
Richard Nixon 7
Woodrow Wilson 6
Franklin Pierce 5
Grover Cleveland 5
Top 10 Presidents with the highest percentage of their Vetoes Overridden
President Percent Overrides
Franklin Pierce 55.6%
Andrew Johnson 51.7%
George W. Bush 33.3%
Gerald Ford 18.2%
Richard Nixon 16.3%
Woodrow Wilson 13.6%
Ronald Reagan 11.5%
John Tyler 10.0%
Chester Arthur 8.3%
Barack Obama 8.3%
The 7 Presidents who never issued a Veto
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
William Henry Harrison
Zachary Taylor
Millard Fillmore
James Garfield
Summary:
The Veto is a very effective tool for the President to use. Only three Presidents (Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson, and George W. Bush) have had over a third of their Vetoes Overridden. Despite this fact, the last three Presidents, George W. Bush (12 Vetoes), Barack Obama (12 Vetoes), and Donald Trump (as of October 17, 2019, 6 Vetoes), have not Vetoed Legislation very often. William McKinley issued the most Vetoes (42) without have any of them overridden.
