McConnell takes aim at Obama ahead of Iran speech
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) aimed to pressure President Obama on the Iran nuclear deal ahead of his speech later Wednesday.
“It’s clear that the deal is making members of both parties uneasy, and with good reason,” the Republican leader said. “That’s why I’ve called for a debate worthy of the importance of the agreement when the Senate takes it up in September. I hope the president will echo this tone of seriousness in his remarks later today.”
{mosads}The president is expected to say during a speech at American University in Washington that it would be a “historic mistake” for Congress to reject an agreement reached last month on Iran’s nuclear program. Under the deal, Iran would limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
McConnell said Obama should “avoid tired, obviously untrue talking points about this being some choice between a bad deal and war. … Now is the time to aim higher. Now is the time to dig deeper. What I’m asking for is President Obama to join us in rising to the moment.”
The White House has launched a full-court press to try to shore up support for the agreement among Democrats. They’ll need roughly 34 Democrats in the Senate to back the deal in order to sustain the expected veto from Obama.
While three Senate Democrats voiced their support of the deal on Tuesday, many are still undecided, including Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
“Like many senators, I’m continuing to consider this matter. I’m looking forward to the briefing tonight,” Reid said, referring to meeting with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “It’s altogether appropriate for senators to consider this deliberately and with the understanding that this is really important.”
The meeting for senators with Moniz comes as lawmakers are expected to leave Washington for a five-week recess. Senators will have less than two weeks to vote on either a resolution of approval or resolution of disapproval on the deal once they return in September.
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