“[Obama] is preparing to try and force this deal over our objections”, House Speaker John Boehner said on the floor Friday.
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“Never in our history has something with so many consequences for our national security been rammed through with such little support“, Boehner said. “The Iran deal is a bad deal and it needs to be stopped and we are fighting here in the House of Representatives to do that”. In fact, just days after Obama announced the deal, the California Democrat said her caucus would be able to uphold a presidential veto of GOP legislation aimed at killing the agreement, which effectively guaranteed its survival.
The American people remain overwhelmingly opposed to the nuclear deal with Iran and so Senate Democrats did what they do best – they ducked and ran for cover this past week. Our global negotiating partners have said as much and they have also indicated that worldwide sanctions will fall apart if Congress blocks the President from implementing our obligations under the agreement. The 162 members who voted for approval of the deal were all Democrats.
Twenty-five Democrats went against Obama’s lead and instead joined Republicans in rejecting the controversial deal, which requires Iran to redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities.
The House held three votes on the Iran deal Thursday and Friday.
But that hasn’t stopped Republicans from continuing to fight the deal, which they insist will fill Iran’s coffers while failing to create a robust nuclear inspection regime.
These details are laid out in two side agreements between the global Atomic Energy Agency and Iran which have not been made public.
Additionally, the resolution passed Thursday is non-binding, and unless the House sues the president for acting illegally to lift sanctions, nothing stops Obama from moving forward to begin the process of lifting the economic sanctions on Tehran.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) Executive Director David Harris expressed disappointment at the Senate’s failure to vote on the agreement despite its “historical and global importance”.
Today’s vote in the House chamber provides the clearest picture of where member stands on the issue and exposes the rift within the Democratic party over the efficacy of the deal.
“That will be good news, and it will mean that the global community can move forward with implementing the agreement”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.
Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon said the deal will only allow Iran to become a bigger “menace” in the Middle East.
While Congress has seemingly run out of ways to reject the deal, another option is a lawsuit against Obama.
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Donovan has long warned of detrimental effects of approving the Iran agreement, saying the country could develop a nuclear weapon with the intent of attacking the United States and Israel.
