Congress rebukes Obama, rejects his 9/11 lawsuit veto

President Obama lost his first veto fight with Congress on Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to override his objection to a bill that would allow families of the Americans killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

The bipartisan vote came despite lobbying from Obama to uphold his veto. Obama said he objects to the bill because it could damage U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and could undermine America's own sovereign immunity against lawsuits.

The Senate voted 97-1 to override Obama's veto, and the only "no" vote was from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The House voted a few hours later and was also able to get the two-thirds vote needed to override Obama's veto, handing Obama his first, and likely his only, veto override in the nearly eight years he's been in office.

The final House vote was 348-77. Democrats voted by a more than two-to-one margin against Obama.