The GOP controls one chamber in Congress, but President Joe Biden can still rely on his veto power.
And he just issued the first veto of his 52-year career in politics.
On Monday, Biden sought to kill a Republican measure that bans the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for Americans’ retirement plans.
It’s just the latest manifestation of the new relationship, and Biden is gearing up for even bigger fights with Republicans on government spending and raising the nation’s debt limit in the next few months.
The measure vetoed by Biden ended a Trump-era ban on federal managers of retirement plans considering factors such as climate change, social impacts or pending lawsuits when making investment choices.
Because suits and climate change have financial repercussions, administration officials argue that the investment limits are courting possible disaster.
Meanwhile, critics say environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments allocate money based on political agendas, such as a drive against climate change, rather than on earning the best returns for savers.
Republicans in Congress pushed a measure to overturn the actions of Biden’s Labor Department.
Biden announced the veto in a video released by the White House… and he singled out “MAGA Republicans” as the reason for it.
“This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like,” Biden tweeted. “Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not.”
He added in a video, “It makes sense to veto it.”
Only two Democrats in the Senate voted for the investment limits, making it unlikely that backers of a potential veto-override effort in Congress could reach the two-thirds majority required in each chamber.
Take a look —
I just vetoed my first bill.
This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don't like.
Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not. pic.twitter.com/PxuoJBdEee
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2023
U.S. presidents have issued about 2,500 vetoes since George Washington’s first one in 1792. Franklin D. Roosevelt alone issued 635.
However, presidents started issuing fewer vetoes during the 1960s. Since Dwight D. Eisenhower, no president has issued more than 100.
Donald Trump, Biden’s predecessor, issued ten vetoes across four years.
Barack Obama issued 12. So did George W. Bush, although Congress overrode a third of them.
Biden attracted attention last month for pledging not to veto a House resolution condemning D.C.’s new criminal code.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.