Congress Restores 9/11 Bill, Sends Obama’s Veto Packing

Gingrich: The Saudis don’t have much maneuvering room to threaten us

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on the 9/11 lawsuit bill.

Congress overrode President Obama’s veto of the 9/11 bill on Wednesday and now families of 9/11 victims can sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role they may have played in the terror attack. This was the first time Congress had overturned one of President Obama’s vetoes.

In response to the Senate’s 97-1 vote, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the action was “the single most embarrassing thing that the United States Senate has done, possibly, since 1983.”

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich fired back and defended the governing body’s decision in an interview with FOX Business Network’s Liz MacDonald.

“I think so many American citizens are sick and tired of being told that we have to pay royalties to Iran, we have to appease the terrorists, we have to pay ransom to get Americans back.. And they kind of think yeah I’d like to see American citizens have a chance to get even,” Gingrich said.

He went on to say that Saudi Arabia’s possible retaliation to sell hundreds of billions of dollars of American assets would hurt them more than it would hurt the U.S. Saudi Arabia is also feeling the sting of weak oil prices, the cornerstone of their economy. Oil has dropped 53% from the record highs of 2014 to the $47 level.

“The Saudis always want to bluff and now that fracking has opened up American energy and now that we have a candidate like Donald Trump who’s in favor of American energy independence, the Saudis don’t have much maneuvering room to threaten us. We are the guys protecting them, how come they are threatening us?,” he said.

Saudi officials have maintained they did not aid nor play a role in the 9/11 attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people and injured thousands more.

The terror attacks are the deadliest on American soil since Pearl Harbor when the Japanese launched a surprise attack in the early morning hours of December 7, 1941.