Leading Senate opponent of Iran nuclear agreement concedes defeat
The chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has acknowledged that the Obama administration’s lobbying campaign for the Iran nuclear accord has generated results.
US Senator Bob Corker, a Republican representing Tennessee, said he does not know if opponents of the nuclear agreement in Congress can prevail.
Corker, who is a leading voice against the deal and is known for his anti-Iran stance, made the remarks as Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington said on Tuesday that she would vote in favor of the agreement, the 29th senator to do so.
That put supporters closer to the 34 votes required to sustain a presidential veto if Congress rejects the agreement struck by Iran and the P5+1 group of countries last month.
Some lawmakers in Congress who support the deal are now seeking to get 41 votes, which would allow Democrats to prevent a disapproval resolution outright in the Senate and protect US President Barack Obama from having to use his veto power.
Corker criticized Democrats’ attempts to kill the disapproval resolution and block a final vote, given that Congress endorsed a bill giving lawmakers the right to vote on the agreement.
“I find that stunning that the leader, the Democratic leader, is proposing that,” Corker told The Associated Press. “All but one senator voted in favor of having the right to vote on the final deal, so then to turn right around and filibuster it to me is very inconsistent and I think would be confusing to the people they represent.”
Congress is reviewing the July 14 nuclear agreement and has until September 17 to vote to either approve or disapprove it. Obama has pledged to veto a resolution of disapproval in Congress.
Republicans unanimously oppose the nuclear pact, but they need a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress to override a presidential veto.
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