A key senator who is the top-ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee announced his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal today, in a blow to the White House and a boost to opponents.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland is a crucial vote and the author of legislation providing for congressional review of the deal that aims to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions.
The agreement is a landmark foreign policy victory for President Barack Obama, whose Democrats have already amassed enough votes to ensure it survives in Congress, despite ferocious opposition from Republicans and Israel's government.
The ultimate outcome is not in doubt: even if a disapproval resolution passes, Obama will veto it and supporters have more than enough votes to sustain that veto.
But the best-case scenario for Obama would be for Democrats to prevent the disapproval resolution from ever passing at all. The vote is set for next week in the Senate.
Suspense about the resolution's outcome was heighted Friday by twin announcements from Cardin and, moments earlier,
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who said that he would back the deal. With Bennet's support, backers are just three votes shy of the 41 out of 100 senators they would need to block the resolution from passing.
As a leading Jewish Democrat, Cardin was under strong pressure from segments of the Jewish community to oppose the deal, which is ardently opposed by Israel.
"This is a close call, but after a lengthy review, I will vote to disapprove the deal," Cardin wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. The agreement "legitimizes Iran's nuclear program. After 10 to 15 years, it would leave Iran with the option to produce enough enriched fuel for a nuclear weapon in a short time," he wrote.
Bennet, who is up for re-election next year, told The Denver Post the agreement is flawed but represents an important step toward the objectives of preventing Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon and avoiding war in the Middle East.
But Cardin's opposition could be enough to prevent three more senators from coming on board. Only five have yet to announce where they stand.
Cardin's announcement makes three Senate Democrats who oppose the deal. The others are Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Chuck Schumer of New York, another leading Jewish Democrat.
