The Pocket Veto: Its Current Status Summary

The Constitution provides that any bill not returned by the President “within ten Days (Sundays excepted) ” shall become law, “unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. ” This instrument of presidential power, known as the “pocket veto, ” was first used in 1812 by President James Madison. Unlike the regular veto, which is subject to a congressional override, a pocket veto is “absolute ” because it is not returned to Congress. Beginning in 1929, several judicial decisions attempted to clarify when an adjournment by Congress would “prevent ” the President from returning a veto. Several cases during the Nixon administration appeared to restrict the pocket veto to a final adjournment of Congress at the end of the second session, and that understanding was accepted by the Ford and Carter administrations. Under this political accommodation, Presidents would not use the pocket veto in the middle of a session (intrasession vetoes) or between the first and the second sessions (intersession vetoes)