For the second time in two years, Gov. Phil Scott suffered a historic-level smackdown on Monday. It only took the Legislature one single day to override six of his vetoes. He was upheld only on H.121, the data privacy bill. Otherwise it was a complete wipeout for The Most Popular Governor in AmericaTM.
Who is also, far and away, the most overridden governor in Vermont history. I knew he was the rootin’est, tootin’est, vetoin’est governor we’ve ever had, but I hadn’t realized that he’s even more of an outlier on the override front.
I’ve cited the Vermont State Archives’ list of veto messages as my source for veto counts (inclluding my count of 52 vetoes for Governor Nice Guy), but I failed to notice that the list also indicates which vetoes were overridden — with an asterisk.
Are you ready for some truly stunning figures? I know you are.
There have been a grand total of 25 veto overrides in Vermont history. Twelve of them — almost half — have come in the last two years: Six overrides in 2023 and another six this year. Even more striking, 17 of the 25 have come during the Scott administration.
That’s right. Eight overrides for all the other governors in Vermont history combined, and 17 for Phil Scott. Eight overrides in 239 years; 17 in the last seven.
There are a number of factors that play into this stark reality. The biggest, for my money, is the century-plus of absolute Republican dominance from the mid-1800s to the late 1950s. When Republicans hold the executive and legislative branches you’d expect very few vetoes and even fewer overrides, and that was indeed the case. Throughout his tenure, Scott has faced strong Democratic/Progressive majorities — and more recently, veto-proof supermajorities.
And in spite of that fact, Scott has gone on doing what he’s always done: Vetoed a lot of bills. Some were matters of principle but others were, frankly, on the petty side. And in both categories, he’s getting overridden. A lot.
You know, if I were Phil Scott (and aren’t you glad I’m not, I couldn’t possibly drive a race car), I’d be taking a good hard look at my political operation. Something isn’t working. In spite of lopsided electoral victories and sky-high poll numbers, I’m getting slapped around by the Legislature and I don’t much care for it.
If I were you-know-who, I’d be thinking about three things:
- My broken relationship with the Legislature and how I might repair it, because those supermajorities are probably not going away, not with a weakened and radicalized VTGOP. Are there ways for us to work together and try to move Vermont forward, instead of being constantly at loggerheads?
- My executive office’s strategy of confrontation, because it’s making me look like a fool on the regular. Maybe it’s time for some new blood in an office that’s seen virtually no turnover since I became governor.
- My long abstention from VTGOP affairs. I’ve effectively allowed the party to become a fringe operation with no appeal beyond a narrow base. The Republican caucuses are too puny to serve as my backstop.
Will Scott do any of those things? Nope. No chance. He’s a stubborn cuss. He will keep on doing things the way he’s always done ’em. And assuming likely Democratic victories in November, he’ll be facing supermajorities again in the new biennium. He will, again, veto a bunch of stuff. And the Legislature will, again, override a bunch. And in terms of policy and the direction Vermont is going, Phil Scott will become ever more irrelevant. If he wants to get something done and maybe leave a lasting imprint on the state, he’d better try something different. The same ol’, same ol’ isn’t getting it done.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
“It only took the Legislature one single day to override six of his vetoes. ”
That was pretty good:)
Scott keeps getting re-elected because in general Vermont’s comfortable white liberals don’t want to be make uncomfortable. Thankfully our state’s legislature is paying attention to leadership and a realistic opportunity for our grandkids and their grandkids to have a healthy and sustainable future.
Best thing one can do this year to keep this momentum going is to elect a governor who is in agreement with the General Assembly in these vital to deal with areas.
And yes, this is about political parties. Only one political party has been standing steadfastly in the way of positive action on the climate and environmental crisis; and that is Scott’s GOP/VTGP. Only one political party is actively pushing a proven rapist, business fraud, and serial liar to be President of our United States, and taht is Scott’s GOP/VTGOP.
So, comfortable white liberals, stop voting for your comfort, and vote for the grandkids ability to actually have a future.
Reality check: We’re not going to get a real challenge to Scott until the VT Dems commit to actually putting forward and spending the money on a real challenger. I very much admire Brenda Siegel’s determined work for the unhoused population in this state, but I’m sorry, the answer to this conundrum is not someone with zero previous experience in elective office. I would like to see Mike Pieciak consider a run in 2026.
“The same ol’, same ol’ isn’t getting it done.”
Which is a good thing, because what he wants to do would be even worse for the state than what he has accomplished, mostly behind the scenes.
I’ll never understand the hate for the Governor. The price for Housing, interest rates, groceries, gas, and everything else has skyrocketed which has led to average Vermonters to have less money to spend. With the massive tax increase they will now have even less money to spend,
The less money folks have the less sales tax revenues will be. This may also result in less business tax revenues and employment. There’s a time to tax but with the state of the economy this just isn’t the time.
However, this is a good article. The Governor clearly has no pull with the legislature which is a bit of problem.
Vermont’s Governor is a feckless fool.
That clown isn’t qualified to wash Vermont’s collective pots.
Vermont’s current state of existence is exactly what you get when you hire an incompetent idiot.
So do not lament vermont, for you’ve manifested your own present reality.
What he has to offer now is sneering disdain. For all of us. He disdains his own party, his long-serving Lt. Governor, the duly-elected members of the Legislature, his cabinet when they dare think for themselves (ie, Dr. Levine and his evidence-based support of harm-reduction practices for drug overdose), all of us, really. Of course he’s lashing out with seething frustration, because everything he has, everything he is (which ain’t much) has painted him into this corner.
All he can do–and he’s doing it, clearly–is signaling to stealth DINOs that, if they can wiggle their way into the Legislature, then they will get the great reward of…supporting him in veto overrides. That’s gonna be fun for them (if successful in their primary challenges), as they build up contempt from most of their colleagues. In other words, what he’s offering them is the chance to get elected on nice-guy cred, so you can then do not-nice-guy things. I guess we’ll see how that works out.