Obama dismisses House Iran vote

by Jordan Fabian - 09/11/15 2:19 PM ET

President Obama on Friday dismissed a House vote against the Iran nuclear deal.

Obama said in a statement he is grateful that lawmakers “who have taken care to judge the deal on the merits” are backing it.

{mosads}“Today’s vote in the House of Representatives is the latest indication that the more members have studied the historic deal that will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the more they have come out in support of it,” he said.

The House on Friday voted 162-269 to reject a resolution to approve the Iran nuclear deal. The vote was largely a symbolic rebuke of Obama, who has made the nuclear pact the centerpiece of his foreign policy legacy.

The vote will not prevent the nuclear agreement from taking effect. The Senate, which failed to advance a disapproval resolution on Thursday, is not expected to take up the House measure.

But the House vote served to expose divisions within Obama’s party over the controversial agreement, which would lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program. Twenty-five House Democrats voted against the measure.

But Obama praised House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for leading an effort to build support for the deal in Congress.

More than two-thirds of House Democrats voted together on Friday, enough to sustain a presidential veto if the legislation had gone that route.

Under pressure from conservatives, House Republican leaders abandoned a plan to vote on a resolution of disapproval. Instead, they set up a complex legislative maneuver that could pave the way to a lawsuit against the deal.

Obama said the country should turn its attention toward putting the deal into place.

“Now, we must turn to the critical work of implementing and verifying this deal so that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear weapon,” Obama said. “In doing so, we’ll write the latest chapter of American leadership in the pursuit of a safer, more hopeful world.”

Tags Barack Obama Iran deal