Iran sales pitch in overdrive

Facing wary lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, top Obama administration officials head to Capitol Hill on Monday to push Congress for more time and space to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will meet House lawmakers at 5 p.m. in the Capitol to urge them to resist legislation the White House says will undermine the ongoing talks ahead of a June 30 deadline.

{mosads}President Obama, Vice President Biden and other top officials have been phoning lawmakers to pitch that message since a framework deal was reached with the Iranians earlier this month. Monday’s meeting marks the first time administration officials will meet face-to-face with the entire lower chamber, as lawmakers return to Washington from a two-week spring recess.

The gathering comes a day before the Senate Foreign Relations panel is scheduled to vote on legislation giving Congress a chance to review any Iranian deal. Sponsored by committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the proposal is expected to sail through the panel and appears to have enough support to defeat a Democratic filibuster on the Senate floor.

House Republicans have yet to introduce similar legislation, though GOP leaders are working with Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) about next steps. If the Senate passes the Corker bill, “the House could move quickly to take it up,” a House GOP leadership aide said Friday.

Behind Royce, the House Foreign Affairs panel is staging a hearing on April 22 to examine the nuclear framework. The title of that meeting — “Nuclear Agreement with Iran: Can’t Trust, Can We Verify?” — summarizes the skepticism the administration faces from lawmakers of both parties, as Obama tries to solidify a deal he hopes will be the crowning foreign-policy achievement of his second term.

With all Republicans expected to support the legislation, ultimate passage will likely hinge on the ability of Democratic leaders to rally their troops to sustain a promised veto from Obama. 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) came out forcefully against the Corker bill last week, warning that the legislation will “undermine” a deal at a crucial juncture in the talks.

“Diplomacy has taken us to a framework agreement founded on vigilance and enforcement, and these negotiations must be allowed to proceed unencumbered,” she said.

Still, even some members of her leadership team are supporting the Corker bill, arguing that the Iranian deal is too significant to national security interests, both for the United States and Israel, for Congress not to have a larger role in its finalization.

“Congress has a constitutional responsibility to weigh in on deals of this magnitude, and that’s exactly what we should do,” Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), head of the Democrats’ communications arm and a close Pelosi ally, said last week.

Other pro-Israel Democrats have suggested, however, that Republican efforts to sink the deal, notably the GOP’s invitation to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bash the talks in a speech before a joint session of Congress last month, have politicized the debate to an extent that will swing Democrats to support Obama.  

“If it’s a political or personal issue, Democrats are not going to override a presidential veto,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a member of the Foreign Affairs panel, told The Hill earlier this month. 

Kerry and Moniz will return to the Capitol Tuesday morning for another pitch to House Democrats at their weekly caucus meeting. Afterward, they will brief Senate lawmakers on the framework deal.