Congress Hands Bush First Veto Override

President Bush suffered the first veto override of his seven-year-old presidency Thursday as the Senate enacted a $23 billion water resources bill despite his protest that it was filled with unnecessary projects.

The 79-14 vote included 34 Republicans who defied the president. Enactment was a foregone conclusion, but it still marked a milestone for a president who spent his first six years with a much friendlier Congress controlled by his Republican Party.

Now he confronts a more hostile, Democratic-controlled legislature, and Thursday’s vote showed that most of the Republicans will defy him on spending matters dear to their political careers.

Bush’s spokeswoman portrayed the issue as a divide between a budget-conscious president and a big-spending Congress.