Dems block Iran bill for second time

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a resolution disapproving the Iran nuclear deal for a second time, standing firm behind the signature foreign policy initiative of President Obama’s second term.

The Senate voted 56-42 for the Iran resolution, short of the 60 votes needed to move forward.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), both candidates for president, didn’t vote. Meanwhile, in a repeat of last week, Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin (Md.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Robert Menendez (N.J.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) bucked Obama to oppose the Iran agreement.

{mosads}Republicans have until Thursday to pass legislation rejecting the nuclear deal, and while they have pledged to keep the focus on Iran up through the deadline, their next steps are unclear.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said that additional votes on Iran this week are “still being discussed.”

“Whether there are other votes that we’ll take, that hasn’t been decided yet to my knowledge,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) threatened to force a vote on an amendment that would require Iran to support Israel and release Americans currently held in the country before President Obama could lift sanctions. 

Regardless of additional votes, the nuclear deal is all but guaranteed to survive Congress and go into effect next month. Under the bargain, economic sanctions will be lifted on Iran in return for internationally enforced limits on its nuclear program.

McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed Democrats as willing to “win ugly” by saving the president from having to veto a resolution rejecting the deal.

The Senate could still try to take up a resolution of approval, which wouldn’t have the votes to pass. But, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, cast doubt on the maneuver, saying, “I don’t think that’s in the cards.”

Democrats slammed McConnell on Tuesday for forcing a repeat of procedural vote. They said the Republican leader is wasting the Senate’s time when lawmakers face a myriad of other deadlines, including funding the government by the end of the month.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, joked that the identical votes were a form of “debate prep” for the Senate’s four Republican presidential candidates.  

“I don’t know why we’re going through a replay of this, and there’s a suggestion that he may do another vote in another few days,” he added. “Is this part of a debate prep for some of the Republican senators running for president, that they come to the floor and make their speeches … and get to cast a vote before the CNN debate this week?”

Republicans defended holding a a second vote on the resolution of disapproval.

Asked why senators were voting again, Cornyn pointed to “accountability” on the Iran deal, which he said is “most serious national security vote” senators have taken since authorizing the Iraq War.

“This is very important,” he added. “The idea that they can they just brush this under the rug and move on from here, I think they underestimate the consequences of this both from a national security perspective and a political perspective.”

Republicans had hoped that two Democrats would flip their positions on blocking the Iran resolution after facing pressure back in their home states over the weekend. Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) made a plea from the Senate floor ahead of the vote for his Democratic colleagues to allow a resolution to move forward.