Trump says he will become ‘Mr Veto’ after losing Congress. But what will he be able to do?

Trump says he will become ‘Mr Veto’ after losing Congress. But what will he be able to do? The US president retains the power to block legislation which is likely create deadlock in government, Daniel Keane reports - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Donald Trump has responded to his disastrous defeat in the US midterm elections by threatening to use one of his most significant remaining powers - the presidential veto. In a major setback to the President, the Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House on Wednesday after scoring sweeping victories in Republican strongholds, including Kansas and Texas. The results will severely hamper Trump’s efforts to deliver his legislative agenda for the remainder of his presidency, following two years in which Congress rarely exercised its power to rein in the President. As the scale of the Republican defeat became clear, Trump posted a picture of one of his iconic red baseball caps on his Truth Social account featuring one word: “Veto”. On Sunday, Trump said he expected to issue vetoes for "a month or two" before reaching compromises with the Democrats. "I guess I'll become Mr. Veto," Trump told the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast. "And then at some point, we'll probably make deals." The White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress and will seek to advance Trump’s agenda on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending through executive power. The Independent looks at what veto powers Trump will have - and what he will find difficult to do in government after the results. What is the veto? Despite the Democrats winning both chambers, Trump retains veto power and broad executive authority, limiting the ability of his rivals to enact major legislation. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution states that the President can veto bills passed by Congress before they become law. Congress can override the veto, but it requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers. The veto does not allow the President to change the content of the legislation. But by threatening a veto, they can seek to influence and shape a bill before it is proposed. A “pocket veto”, happens if the President does not sign a bill within ten days of it being passed to their desk by Congress. If Congress is adjourned before the ten days are up and the legislation is not returned by the President, the bill effectively dies. This type of veto is particularly powerful because Congress cannot override it, as it is not able to vote whilst in adjournment. Has Trump used the veto before? Trump used the presidential veto ten times during his first term, according to the American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara. In his second term, he has used it twice. This compares with 13 vetoes during the Biden administration and 12 during Barack Obama’s two terms. In December last year, Trump vetoed two bills that passed Congress with bipartisan support. One had aimed to cut the amount that communities in Colorado were paying toward a new water pipeline, proposed by one of Trump’s MAGA allies Rep. Lauren Boebert. The other would have supported a flooding mitigation project for a Native American tribe in Florida. Under the legislation, the Miccosukee tribe would have been given more control of their tribal lands. But Trump claimed that the tribe had “actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected”. The tribe was among groups suing the Trump administration over an immigration detention center built in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz”, which has now been shut down. Trump has previously invoked national emergencies to expand his ability to act without new legislation. Congress can vote to end those emergencies, but Trump could veto such a move, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him. What will be difficult for Trump to do? The results are likely to usher in deadlock in Washington. Once seated in January, the Democrats are expected to use their power to investigate Trump's administration, family and allies and demand concessions on major legislation. A Democratic Senate can also block Trump's nominees, including any US Supreme Court justices should a vacancy arise. But there are still a number of areas that Trump can influence without congressional approval. He will still retain significant authority to pursue foreign policy and implement tariffs - two areas that have been a focus during his second term. For example, Trump can continue to order new airstrikes on Iran, impose economic sanctions and directly negotiate with world leaders including Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. However, new treaties with other countries cannot be ratified without congressional approval. And Trump will not be able to declare war on another country - only Congress has the constitutional power to do so. Will the veto force Trump and the Democrats to compromise? During both of his presidential terms, Trump has shown little appetite for seeking congressional approval for many of his key policies. This includes his deeply unpopular war in Iran, which began in late February with the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump offered a surprisingly conciliatory message to the Democrats and said he’s “willing to accept the results” of the midterms. "We'll work with the Democrats and we'll look forward to working with them. We'll probably work something out," he said. For anything to be accomplished, Trump and the Democrats will need to strike a compromise. There is past precedent for this. In 1995-96, the then Democrat President Bill Clinton was forced to negotiate with a Republican-controlled House and Senate to pass a federal budget. Clinton vetoed the initial Republican legislation in December 1995 and the government was shut down for nearly a month. Negotiations between Democrats and Republicans eventually led to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which contained compromises on both sides on taxes and spending cuts. But many experts say that Trump will likely to continue to govern as he always has done - without the approval of Congress. "President Trump in the last two years has basically ignored Congress and tried to do as much as possible through executive orders and executive power," said Nathan Gonzales, editor at Inside Elections, which provides nonpartisan political analysis. "I think he will only continue if there are Democratic majorities." Past history also suggests that while the Democrats are likely to bombard Trump with new legislation, he is unlikely to give most of it his backing. "They can send over 50 different great bills that they are all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp," he told FOX News. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments