Who has the power to veto legislation?

• A. The President
• B. The Vice President
• C. The Speaker of the House
• D. The Chief Justice

Answer: (A)

The power to veto legislation belongs to the President. The President can reject a bill passed by Congress and return it with objections, effectively stopping it from becoming law unless Congress acts. If Congress wants the bill to become law anyway, both the Senate and the House must vote to override the veto by a two-thirds majority in each chamber. The idea behind this is to keep a balance between the legislative and executive branches.

The Vice President does not veto legislation; they mainly preside over the Senate and can cast a tie-breaking vote in limited situations. The Speaker of the House cannot veto laws either; they lead the House and influence legislation, but they don’t have a veto authority. The Chief Justice does not veto laws; instead, the judiciary can review laws and strike them down as unconstitutional, which is a different kind of check on legislation.