That’s what I thought too, actually. I was mainly commenting on news sources out there and there are more than one saying veto-proofing. It seems the news media really isn’t doing its job in being concise about the mechanics of the vote.
I tend to think it was a cloture vote to keep it off the floor vote. IIRC the cloture vote rules were changed by Reid with respect to filibustering and the like, however.
Reid changed the cloture vote rules to start floor voting on certain presidential appointments. I believe it was appointments to federal judge positions. Cloture still requires 60 votes for all bills, and Supreme Court justices.
Absolutely correct.
Cloture occurs (or doesn’t) entirely within the senate and is related to ending filibusters and forcing bills to the senate floor to be heard and voted upon. The number of votes required for cloture is covered under the ever-changing rules of the senate.
The requirements for over-riding a presidential veto are specifically outlined in the Constitution and are based on simple mathematics. A 2/3 majority vote of both houses of congress is required to over-ride the president’s veto of a bill. In the 100 member senate that means 67 votes. In the 435 member house of reprehensibles it means 290 votes.
The requirements to over-ride a veto cannot be changed except by constitutional amendment, not even by Harry Reid, and not even by using “common core” math.