He said many of those who supported the Iraq war were making the same arguments against the Iran deal, angering some Republicans who said the president was making partisan attacks.
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The majority leader has said he wants senators to spend next month’s debate over the Iran deal planted in their seats – an unusual step underscoring the issue’s gravity.
King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “The Situation Room” Wednesday that the choice was “literally the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make”.
The back-and-forth comes as the Senate is scheduled to vote on a resolution rejecting the nuclear agreement with Iran shortly after returning from the four-week August recess. The Senate is joining the House in summer recess as Congress sets course for an autumn of showdowns over Iran, spending and Planned Parenthood.
That means the main suspense is whether Obama can corral enough Democratic support to sustain his veto and keep the agreement alive. Congress has until September 17 to vote on it. “I think it is also important to understand how different the South is now”.
McConnell spoke on the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the landmark Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed the right to vote for people of all races after years of rampant discrimination, especially in the South. In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the law that required certain states with a history of racial discrimination at the polls to “pre-clear” any changes to the voting laws with the federal government before implementing them.
The agreement would give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program which Washington long believed was cover for building a bomb.
Another GOP presidential contender, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, said Obama is marching Jews “to the door of the oven” – a reference to both the Holocaust and Israel’s strong opposition to the agreement. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., arrives…
“I imagine the Democrats who’ve already come out against this agreement will be especially insulted by it”, McConnell continued. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Joe Courtney of Connecticut and Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey. Chuck Schumer, Gillibrand’s New York colleague and likely future Senate Democratic leader, has yet to declare his position.
When Congress returns after Labor Day, lawmakers will face a fall packed with do-or-die deadlines, including a September abbreviated by the Jewish holidays to just 10 days when both chambers are simultaneously in session. They include keeping the government running past an October 1 deadline, welcoming Pope Francis for an address before a joint meeting of Congress and the Cabinet, and finding a way to free must-do spending bills and pass legislation increasing the government’s debt limit. And the House’s appropriations process is also stalled, with GOP leaders unwilling to bring up spending measures because they fear Democrats will seek to attach language banning the Confederate flag in federal cemeteries.
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The Kentucky senator concluded asking Obama to take back his remarks.
