Senate speeds toward Iran vote

The Senate is speeding toward a key procedural vote Thursday on the Iran nuclear deal.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) got consent to move up a cloture vote on a resolution of disapproval for the Iran nuclear deal to Thursday afternoon, setting the stage for a climactic vote in the chamber.

{mosads}The Republican leader warned Democrats not to block debate on the Iran resolution, saying it would be a “tragedy” if the Senate didn’t allow a final vote on President Obama’s controversial nuclear pact.

“What a tragedy it would be then if at the very last moment some of those same senators decided to filibuster to prevent the American people from having a real say on this incredibly important issue,” the Kentucky Republican said. “I know some of our colleagues are currently under immense pressure to shut down the voice of the people.” 

Forty-two Democrats in the Senate have endorsed the nuclear agreement with Iran, which is enough to mount a filibuster.

Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has suggested that Democrats could block the resolution from overcoming the procedural hurdle, where opponents of the deal will need 60 votes. 

To block the resolution, Reid will need 41 of the 42 supporters of the agreement in the Senate to vote no on Thursday’s procedural vote.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) had suggested Wednesday that he was still trying to lock down support from a handful of key Democrats to mount a filibuster.

Reid had hoped McConnell would accept a deal to skip over procedural votes and move directly to a final vote on the Iran resolution that included a higher vote threshold. 

He repeated his offer to the Republican leader on the Senate floor Thursday, but McConnell objected to it. 

“Every senator in this body should understand that if they are forced to vote on cloture, it’s because Senator McConnell, not Democrats, wanted them to. The idea that the Democrats are somehow trying to stop debate, keeping us from a final vote, is foolish,” he added.

“So let’s be clear about who is moving to end debate. It’s the Republican leader.” 

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), with the backing of conservative Republicans in the House, is pushing leadership to delay the vote, arguing that the 60-day review period hasn’t actually begun. 

McConnell has rejected that argument, while the House is expected to vote Friday.

But House Speaker John Boehner pledged Thursday to “use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow, and delay this agreement from being fully implemented.” 

His remarks come after House leadership had to pull a resolution of disapproval on the Iran deal because of Republican infighting. House lawmakers will instead vote on a different package of proposals, including a resolution of approval. 

Republicans are using the days-long debate to highlight the bipartisan opposition to the deal. 

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said the agreement “won’t and it can’t even muster a majority in either the House or Senate. There is nothing bipartisan about support [for the deal].”

Hatch voted against an amendment to the Iran Nuclear Review Act that would have required a higher vote threshold for the deal. 

Meanwhile, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) added that even Democratic supporters are acknowledging the agreement is “deeply flawed.”

Durbin suggested Republicans were for requiring a 60-vote threshold on the Iran deal before they were against it. 

“What we’re asking for is not out of line, in fact, the Republican side had supported the notion of a 60-vote margin until they didn’t have 60 votes.”

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is opposed to the deal, defended his fellow Democrats who favor the agreement.

He said his differences with colleagues “depends on how one thinks Iran will behave under the agreement.”

The nuclear pact, which the United States negotiated with other nations, will lift economic sanctions on Iran in return for limits on the country’s nuclear program. Key elements of the agreement are slated to take effect next month.

Disapproval from Congress has long loomed as a threat to the pact, with Republicans united in denouncing the deal as a dangerous capitulation to Iran that they say will threaten the security of Israel.

After an intense sales job from the White House, Democrats have given a cautious embrace to the pact. Only four Senate Democrats oppose it: Sens. Schumer, Bob Menendez (N.J.), Ben Cardin (Md.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.).

– Updated at 1:47 p.m.