House to vote on Iran deal next week

The House will vote next week on a measure to disapprove of the international accord to curtail Iran’s nuclear weapons.



House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Wednesday that the House will take up the Iran deal as soon as it returns from the August recess next week.



The GOP-controlled House has long been expected to pass a resolution disapproving of the Iran deal, since virtually all Republicans oppose it.



“With a clear majority of Congress and the American people lining up in opposition to this deal, the House will not approve this deal. This is a bad deal for our country and for our allies,” McCarthy said in a statement.



A handful of Democrats — at least 14, according to The Hill’s whip list — have said they will oppose the deal. But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told fellow Democrats Wednesday that she was confident they could sustain President Obama’s veto.



“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 in a letter to House Democrats.



The Obama administration secured a victory Wednesday when retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) became the 34th senator to announce support for the Iran deal, meaning Senate Democrats will be able to prevent any attempt to override a presidential veto.



Pelosi warned House Democrats in the letter that the vote would “likely” be next week, starting next Wednesday, and urged them to state their positions as soon as possible. The House had been originally expected to take the critical Iran vote the week of Sept. 17.



The Senate will also begin debate on its version of a resolution disapproving the Iran deal when it returns from recess next Tuesday, Sept. 8.