White House: Congress has 'buyer's remorse' after overriding Obama veto

WASHINGTON — The White House blasted what it called "rapid onset buyer's remorse" after House and Senate leaders conceded problems with the 9/11 lawsuit bill Congress just enacted into law over President Obama's veto.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., suggested that the House might take up a bill to fix problems with the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA, after it comes back from its election recess. He acknowledged Obama's concerns that the bill could subject U.S. service members to lawsuits in foreign courts. 

"So I'd like to think that there's a way we could fix so that our service members do not have legal problems overseas, while still protecting the rights of the 9/11 victims, which is what JASTA did do," Ryan told reporters Thursday. 

"Nobody really had focused on the potential downside in terms of our international relationships," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. "I think it was just a ball dropped."

Even as they voted to override the veto, 28 senators asked the sponsors of the bill to mitigate the "unintended consequences of the bill."

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

McConnell suggested that Obama didn't make his concerns known early enough. "I hate to blame everything on him. And I don't," he said. "But it would have been helpful had we had a discussion about this much earlier than last week."

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest's response: "Well," he said. "It's hard to know where to start." 

"I think what we've seen in the United States Congress is a pretty classic case of rapid onset buyer's remorse," Earnest said. "It's hard to take at face value the suggestion that somehow they were unaware of the consequences of their vote. But even if they were, what's true in elementary school is true in the United States Congress, ignorance is not an excuse, particularly when it comes to our national security and the safety and security of our diplomats and our service members."

Congress delivered Obama the first veto override of his presidency Wednesday, overwhelmingly enacting the bill over his objections. The vote was 97 to 1 in the Senate and 348-77 in the House.

Congress rejects Obama veto of 9/11 bill; first override of his presidency

The new law provides an exception to the doctrine of :sovereign immunity" for the families of victims of terrorism, allowing them to sue in federal court. It essentially reverses a federal judge's decision — issued one year ago Thursday — that threw out nine lawsuits blaming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

But the bill is broadly written to allow a lawsuit against any country. And it's not the lawsuits that Obama objects to, as much as the prospect of retaliation by other countries. 

The bill does have a built-in safety valve: The attorney general can intervene in any case against a foreign government and ask for a six-month delay as long as the Secretary of State certifies that the government is in "good-faith discussions" with the foreign government to resolve the dispute. That six-month stay can be renewed any number of times, allowing the executive branch to potentially deep-freeze a lawsuit indefinitely.

Obama administration officials were reluctant to say how they might use that power. "I am not going to speculate about any action that could be taken in light of JASTA becoming law," said State Department spokeswoman Katherine Pfaff.

Earnest referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment. "It may be a little hard for them to comment on, a court case that does not exist yet," he said.