Johnson Vetoes Freedmen's Bureau Expansion

President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau renewal bill on February 19, 1866, arguing Congress lacked authority to legislate for unreconstructed states and that the Bureau was unconstitutional. The Senate initially failed to override by two votes. Johnson's veto began a sustained battle with the Radical Republican Congress; a second Bureau bill passed over his veto in July 1866 with Thaddeus Stevens leading the floor fight in the House.