Trump's 'Plan B' when he loses the midterm election... “Exercising the right to veto everything”

Trump: “Reject, deny, reject again… Then we will come and negotiate.”

A veto can be overridden only if two-thirds of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives agree.

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = The worst-case scenario for President Donald Trump is for the Democratic Party to take control of both the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm elections on the 3rd of next month.

Considering the election situation reported in the US media until the 25th (local time), this possibility cannot be ruled out. If the Democratic Party secures a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives and controls Congress's legislative authority, what will President Trump's response be?

President Trump hinted at his 'Plan B' in a short Q&A with reporters at the White House on the 23rd. He predicted that if the Democratic Party regains control of Congress, "I will veto all bills."

President Trump said, "Reject, deny, reject. Then they (Congress) will come and say, 'How can we make this happen?' This is how we negotiate."

This means that even if a bill that does not fit with one's policy passes the Senate and House led by the Democratic Party and is sent to the White House, the bill can be vetoed and sent back to Congress.

The veto power mentioned by President Trump is a power specified in the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution states that all bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate must be submitted to the President before being finalized, and if the President does not approve, the bills are returned to the National Assembly where they were first proposed with reasons for opposition attached.

In order for Congress to re-adopt a bill rejected by the President, an approval vote of more than two-thirds of the members present in the Senate and House of Representatives is required. Assuming everyone is present, if 290 out of 435 members of the House of Representatives and 67 out of 100 members of the Senate vote in favor, the president's veto will be overridden and become law.

The probability that the Democratic Party will win a landslide victory in this election, enough to secure more than two-thirds of both houses, is not high. However, bills submitted to the President often pass through Congress with bipartisan support and cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties. Therefore, if President Trump fights back by exercising his veto, there is a possibility of a conflict between congressional power and executive power.

The first time President Trump exercised his veto in his second term in office was on December 30 last year on the 'Arkansas Valley Water Pipeline (AVC) Completion Bill' and the 'Mickasukee Conservation Area Amendment Bill'. Although it passed with bipartisan support, it was assessed that President Trump exercised his veto as 'retaliation' against his political opponents. These bills were rejected in a second vote in the House of Representatives.

Last July, President Trump did not sign the '21st Century Housing Supply Expansion Act', which passed the Senate and House bipartisanly. However, since the veto was not exercised, the bill automatically took effect 10 days after it was sent.