Dems block effort to derail Iran deal
GOP falls two votes short; McConnell says he may try again
In a big victory for President Obama, Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a resolution to reject the Iran nuclear agreement.
Senators voted 58-42 to bring to the floor a resolution disapproving the deal. That was two votes short of the 60 votes Republican leaders needed to advance the bill.
The Democrats’ action spares Obama from having to veto any legislation and leaves the Iran agreement intact, though Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RKy., said he may bring the bill back for another vote next week.
Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., predicted that the outcome would not change if McConnell tries again.
“You can call (a vote) 10 more times and you’ll get the same result,” Durbin said.
President Obama said he was heartened by the vote.
“The Senate took an historic step forward and voted to enable the United States to work with our international partners to enable the implementation of the comprehensive, long-term deal that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Obama said in a statement.
Leaders in the House of Representatives began voting Thursday on a package of bills designed to stop the deal, but that legislation will die without Senate support.
Instead, House leaders, bowing to pressure from conservative members, opted to take up legislation that they said could pave the way for possible litigation to stop the deal from being fully implemented.
The pact, reached with the U.S. and five other powers, would lift economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran agreeing not to develop nuclear weapons for at least a decade.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the deal threatens the security of Israel and the United States because Iran cannot be trusted to keep the agreement.
“If you let this deal go forward, before too long the most radical regime on the planet will have the most lethal weapons available to mankind,” Graham, a GOP presidential hopeful, said before the vote.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said Iran’s malevolent acts would be even more dangerous if Tehran had nuclear weapons. He said the agreement will help prevent that from happening.
On Friday, the chamber will take up legislation to suspend until Jan. 21, 2017 (when Obama leaves office) the ability of the president to lift economic sanctions. House members also will vote Friday on a resolution to approve the nuclear deal.