Booker to support Iran nuclear deal

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Thursday that he will support the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting it was the better of “two imperfect, dangerous and uncertain options.”

“We have now passed a point of no return that we should have never reached, leaving our nation to choose between two imperfect, dangerous and uncertain options,” Booker said in a statement. “Left with these two choices, I nonetheless believe it is better to support a deeply flawed deal, for the alternative is worse. Thus, I will vote in support of the deal.”

{mosads}Booker is the 35th senator to back the Iran nuclear deal. President Obama on Wednesday got the 34 votes he would need to uphold a veto of a resolution of disapproval, but he’s still short of the 41 Senate supporters he’ll need to block the resolution from initially passing.

Shortly after Booker’s announcement, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) also backed the deal.

Booker, one of roughly a dozen senators who opponents were hoping would buck Obama on the deal, faced an intense lobbying effort over his vote. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a friend of Booker’s, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), held a joint press conference earlier this month, aimed at pressuring the New Jersey Democrat to oppose the agreement.

Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) is one of two Senate Democrats, along with Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), who have publicly said they will oppose the agreement. There are seven Democratic senators left undecided, and opponents will need four of them if they want to force Obama to use a veto.

Booker, however, is seen as having presidential ambitions, and that put him under pressure from liberal groups backing the accord.

Credo Action, a progressive advocacy group, specifically mentioned Booker in a petition calling on Democratic presidential candidates to pledge that they would choose a vice president who supports the deal.

The group praised Booker’s decision.

“Despite enormous pressure from those lobbying for endless war, Sen. Booker did the right thing,” said Zack Malitz, the campaign manager at Credo Action. “It’s time for Democrats who are still on the fence to publicly state their support.”

NIAC Action Executive Director Jamal Abdi also praised Booker’s decision, suggesting it could cement his future in the Democratic party. 

“Booker’s decision is sound policy and the right one politically for any Democrat who may one day have national political aspirations,” he said. “Just as Barack Obama’s opposition to the Iraq war helped define his political trajectory, Democrats who stand firm in support of the Iran deal in spite of the political pressures of the moment are the ones who will define the party in the years to come.” 

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, though, quickly condemned Booker’s decision, saying that while the New Jersey Democrat is a “soul-friend, his decision is “riddled with logical inconsistencies.”

“Cory never even once condemns the Iranian promise to exterminate the Jews of Israel or distance himself from a deal which he admits will legitimize a genocidal regime,” he added. 

In his statement Thursday, Booker offered both criticism and praise for the agreement, saying that “while falling short of permanently eliminating Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon, [it] succeeds in either delaying it or giving us the credible ability to detect significant cheating on their part and respond accordingly.”

He also defended Menendez and other Democrats who will oppose the deal, calling it “a legitimate policy choice that should not be condemned or casually dismissed by those of us who support the deal.”

Booker also outlined a handful of policies that the Oabma administration and Congress should take in the wake of the deal, including bolstering support for Israel and renewing the Iran Sanctions Act.

Menendez and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) have introduced legislation that would extend the law, currently set to expire next year, through 2026.

This story was updated at 4:05 p.m.