Pelosi: House Dems will uphold Iran veto

Hours after the Obama administration secured enough votes in the Senate on Wednesday to protect the Iran nuclear deal, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged Democrats to announce their position as soon as possible.

In a letter to House Democrats, Pelosi said she learned from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that the critical vote to disapprove of the Iran deal could take place in the House as soon as next week when Congress returns from the August recess.

Pelosi said the Iran debate will “likely” start on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and last through Friday, Sept. 11, rather than the original expectation it would be the week of Sept. 17.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who controls the floor schedule, confirmed later Wednesday that the chamber would vote next week.

Still, Pelosi stressed that the looming vote — whether it’s in one week or two — means that House Democrats who haven’t yet stated their position on the Iran deal should do so sooner rather than later.

“For this reason, I am writing to urge all Members to support the agreement and make your support public soon. I also invite you to share any further inquiries you may have, so we may get answers for you as soon as possible in order to be fully prepared for what will be a very fast-paced week when we return,” Pelosi wrote.

Pelosi added that she’s received private assurances from House Democrats who are yet to make public their support for the Iran nuclear agreement. Combined with the Democrats who have announced their positions, Pelosi expressed confidence that both the House and Senate would sustain President Obama’s veto of a measure disapproving of the Iran deal.

“By the end of this week, well over 100 House Democrats will have made their support for the agreement public. With these public statements and private commitments, I am certain that we will uphold the president’s veto,” Pelosi wrote.

Earlier Wednesday, retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) became the 34th senator to announce support for the Iran deal, meaning Democrats will be able to defeat any veto override attempt from Republicans.

“After the announcement of 34 Senators in support of the [Iran deal] today, I am confident we will sustain the president’s veto in both houses of Congress,” Pelosi declared.

The Senate will begin debate on its version of a resolution to disapprove of the international accord to curtail Iran’s nuclear weapons as soon as it returns from recess next Tuesday, Sept. 8.

More than 90 House Democrats have announced support for the Iran deal so far, while 14 have said they will oppose it, according to The Hill’s whip list. 

This story was updated at 6:02 p.m.