Despite President Barack Obama's veto, the " Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act " has been ratified, allowing relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to sue the Saudi Arabian government.
This is the first time Obama's veto is over-ruled in his eight years in power and comes as his tenure nears an end.
Individuals can now take any foreign government to private U.S. courts seeking compensation for terrorism-related injuries on American soil, defying the law that protects countries that are not officially designated by the U.S. as state sponsors of terrorism from being prosecuted in U.S. courts.
The House and Senate both voted in favor of the JASTA law, which was then vetoed by Obama.
The House of Representatives voted 348-77 against the veto, after the Senate rejected it 97-1, marking the first time Obama's veto is overruled since he took the reins of the U.S. in 2009.
The law is predicted to harm U.S. ties with other GCC nations and discourage GCC investment in the U.S. The kingdom had threatened to liquidate its assets in the U.S. if the legislators follow through, but it has not officially made any comment.
Countries including UAE, Bahrain and Jordan have strongly condemned the act, asserting that it is incompatible with principles governing International Law and warning of its grave consequences.
The law doesn't only put the Saudi Kingdom in jeopardy, said the White House, but the U.S. as well.
They added that allowing private litigants and courts to deal with terrorism - instead of national security and foreign policy professionals - impedes the nation's anti-terrorism efforts.
JASTA, they said, could encourage other countries to reciprocate the act and strip the U.S. from its immunity in their domestic courts.
Fifteen of the 19 attackers involved in the 9/11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia, but the Kingdom has firmly rejected all accusations linking it to the hijackers. The U.S. investigative 9/11 Commission found that the Saudi state did not play a role in the attacks.
Families affected by 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, have already received more than $7 billion in compensation.