House Rejects Iran Nuclear Deal (New York Times)
WASHINGTON — Following the playbook of their crusade against the Affordable Care Act, congressional Republicans on Friday showed no sign of letting up in their effort to pressure the White House over the Iran nuclear accord, even after the Senate effectively settled the matter and blocked a Republican resolution aimed at stopping the deal.
The House, as expected, rejected the Iran deal overwhelmingly, in a vote that was sharply along partisan lines.
Some House Republicans also said they were contemplating a lawsuit that would claim that the White House failed to disclose the full details of the nuclear accord as required by a law adopted last spring. And the Senate had scheduled a repeat vote on Tuesday, trying to bait any wavering Democrats to switch their position.
Senate Democratic leaders said they were confident their ranks would hold. But there was some exasperation as Democrats recognized that they would be in for another never-ending battle, presumably continuing through the 2016 presidential and congressional elections and possibly beyond.
“This highlights one of the great problems we have wrestled with over the last couple of years, which is nothing is ever over,” said Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence. “We used to have political fights and when they were done, you moved on to the next fight. But unfortunately in today’s climate nothing is ever over. It’s re-litigated constantly.”
On Friday, House Republicans began venting their rage by forcing Democrats to vote on a resolution approving the contentious agreement with Iran rather than on the long-expected measure disapproving the accord — a maneuver intended to show how little support the deal had in the Republican-controlled chamber, and to force Democrats to be on record in backing the accord.
The House speaker, John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, denounced the deal, offering a long litany of how it would fail to achieve goals promised by Mr. Obama, including stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“This is all without Iran cheating,” Mr. Boehner said, his voice heavy with incredulity and dismay. “That’s right, this is such a bad deal the ayato
By: DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Source: New York Times