Congressional Clash: Bush Vetoes Iraq War Bill
Setting up a showdown with the Democrat-controlled Congress, President George W. Bush today vetoed – as he had said he would – a bill tying more than $100 billion in continued funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a schedule for pulling out American troops, starting this year.
It is not clear what will happen next: Congress appears to lack the two-thirds majority needed to override the president’s veto and force a shift in war strategy, and Bush is not known as a great compromiser. Congressional leaders are expected to meet with Bush tomorrow, reports Reuters.
However, Republican leaders said they are confident a compromise will be reached, reports the Washington Post.
“Some kind of compromise has to be worked out between the administration and the Democrats,” says Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio. “That’s how it’s done. Everybody holds their nose, and maybe a couple of times vomits, but you get it done.”
The veto is only the second during Bush’s presidency. During a speech today he said it was necessary because lawmakers had substituted “the opinions of politicians for the judgment of our military commanders.”
