The people, by the Constitution, have commanded the President, as
much as they have commanded the legislative branch of the Government,
to execute their will. They have said to him in the Constitution, which
they require he shall take a solemn oath to support, that if Congress
pass any bill which he can not approve "he shall return it to the House
in which it originated with his objections." In withholding from it
his approval and signature he is executing the will of the people,
constitutionally expressed, as much as the Congress that passed it.
No bill is presumed to be in accordance with the popular will until it
shall have passed through all the branches of the Government required
by the Constitution to make it a law. A bill which passes the House of
Representatives may be rejected by the Senate, and so a bill passed by
the Senate may be rejected by the House. In each case the respective
Houses exercise the veto power on the other.
Congress, and each House of Congress, hold under the Constitution a
check upon the President, and he, by the power of the qualified veto, a
check upon Congress.
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