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White House blasts Senate for override vote

In this Jan. 27, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and its allies are warning that legislation allowing the kingdom to be sued for the 9/11 attacks will have negative repercussions. The kingdom maintains an arsenal of tools to retaliate with, including curtailing official contacts, pulling billions of dollars from the U.S. economy, and enlisting its lockstep Gulf allies to scale back counterterrorism cooperation, investments and U.S. access to important regional air bases. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

WASHINGTON – The White House says the U.S. Senate vote to override President Barack Obama’s veto of Sept. 11 legislation is an “embarrassing” shirking of its duties.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest claims members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were unfamiliar with the bill’s impact on military personnel and voted to uphold it anyway.

Earnest called the vote the “single most embarrassing thing” the Senate has done in decades and “an abdication” of its responsibility.

The comments reflect White House frustration after failing to persuade Senate Democrats to stand by the president. If the House follows suit, the override will be Obama’s first.

The legislation would allow Sept. 11 victims’ families to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

Obama says it would set a dangerous precedent for Americans serving and living abroad.