Franken, Klobuchar join Senate in overriding the president's 9/11 lawsuit veto

U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar were among the senators who on Wednesday delivered a rebuke to President Barack Obama by overriding his presidential veto.

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly (97-1) to overturn the president's veto of a bill which, among other things, would allow victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia for the country's alleged role in the attacks.

In doing so they are a part of history: It's the first time that the Democrat-led Senate has overridden a veto issued by President Obama in his almost eight-year tenure, NPR reports.

The only senator to vote against the override was Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada.

The law would amend a 1976 law protecting foreign countries from lawsuits, opening up these countries to litigation if it's found they were involved in some way in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, the New York Times reports.

President Obama vetoed the bill, saying it could be "devastating" to the Department of Defense and its foreign affairs and intelligence communities, the Times adds.

Franken and Klobuchar were among the original sponsors of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism bill, the Star Tribune reports, with Franken seeing it as a way of finding out more about "exactly what happened and what role the Saudis played in this" if a case goes to court.

Within hours of the Senate vote, the U.S. House also voted to override the president's veto.