US Rep. Joe Kennedy backing Iran nuclear weapons deal

President Obama needs the support of 34 senators to sustain a potential veto if Republicans in Congress pass the resolution of disapproval.

Coons first confirmed his support to the Washington Post.

Their support leaves just two Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer of New York and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, in opposition to the agreement, with 11 still undecided. Whether or not backers of the deal will get to 41 votes, and can thus block the disapproval measure, is likely to go unanswered until lawmakers return to Washington after Labor Day.

Mr. Casey is among a handful of fence-sitting senators who had been targeted by lobbyists on both sides of the issue. The alternative, to me, is a scenario of uncertainty and isolation.

“She remains concerned about some key aspects of the agreement, including the lack of a good inspection regime, which will make verification extremely hard, and the lifting of the embargoes on conventional arms and intercontinental ballistic missile technology”, her office said in a recent statement.

Step two after fissile material is getting the device made, and then weaponizing it. So they are far too close right now.

U.S. Reps. Diane Black of Gallatin and Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood also have said they will vote against the agreement.

Sen. Ben Cardin has not publicly announced whether he’ll support the deal, but Tuesday a couple of fellow Democrats put their support behind the president.

“But I think all of us have to steer away from incendiary language that suggests that either those who are in favor of the deal are appeasing Iran, or, conversely, that those who are opposed to the deal are not thinking about America’s interest”.

Even supporters of the deal, though, say Kerry was overselling that point.

One of the last remaining holdouts in the Massachusetts delegation to Congress, U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III announced on Monday that he would back the White House’s global nuclear deal with Iran as the “best means before us today to keep nuclear weapons out of Iranian hands”. Senator Coats’ focus on the imperfections of this deal without acknowledging that it is better than no deal leads to his unrealistic rejection of it.

Republicans unanimously oppose the deal that aims to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, but critics have failed to use Congress’ summer recess to turn the tide against the deal. In his statement, he cited “significant shortcomings” that he said the United States must backstop with its own monitoring and “a massive intelligence program”. The Republican-controlled Congress has until September 17 to pass a resolution disapproving the deal.

Senator Cardin says his decision will not be motivated by politics and there are high either way.