Jeff Flake added his "no" to the Iran agreement over the weekend.
It's hard to understand how getting one person from the other party to cross the aisle automatically counts as making the vote on a bill or resolution "bipartisan." A dozen votes from the other party, sure. Even a handful, okay. But one? That is, nonetheless, what's been said all along about Republican Sen. Jeff Flake's stance on the Iran agreement. If he would say "yes," then the agreement would have bipartisan congressional approval. And from The Hill to the
Wall Street Journal to Politico, the news on the weekend was that Flake's announcement that he will oppose the agreement was presented as the end of the White House's chances of getting
bipartisan support for it in the Senate.
The Obama administration had been lobbying hard with Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has shown flexibility on some foreign policy issues, most notably renewed relations with Cuba.
The Hill still counts Mike Enzi of Wyoming as a possible yes on the agreement, but the Washington Post puts him in the "leaning no" category based on his signing of a May 12 letter to Secretary of State John Kerry stating the Obama administration "is failing to recognize the inherent danger of engaging in nuclear negotiations with this particular regime given their appalling record on human rights." The five other signers included presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
In a statement on his decision, Flake said:
While I have supported the negotiations that led to the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] from the beginning, I cannot vote in support of this deal. The JCPOA does contain benefits in terms of limiting Iran’s ability to produce sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon for a period of time, particularly at its known nuclear facilities. But these benefits are outweighed by severe limitations the JCPOA places on Congress and future administrations in responding to Iran’s non-nuclear behavior in the region.
Meanwhile, expectations are that Robert Menendez
will become the second Senate Democrat, after Chuck Schumer of New York, to publicly oppose the agreement:
The New Jersey Democrat's office said Friday that he will deliver a "major address" on the Iran deal Tuesday in New Jersey, where he will announce his decision on whether to vote for a congressional measure of disapproval on the deal.
Menendez is expected to announce he is against the deal. The former Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member has been strongly critical of the deal and the administration's negotiations with Iran, at one point accusing President Barack Obama of using talking points "straight out of Tehran."
Read below the fold for the names of those included in the whip counts of who in the Senate and House have announced they favor or oppose the agreement.
Join us in urging senators and representatives to support the agreement and vote no on any resolution of disapproval.
The Hill whip count now puts the number of senators in favor of the agreement at 20, with seven leaning yes. The Washington Post whip count is 20 in favor with 10 leaning yes. The Hill's tally of the House puts 48 Democrats in the yes category, 16 leaning yes, 11 in the no category, two leaning no and 60 undecided or unclear.
In the Senate, the magic number is 34. That's how many votes are required to override a presidential veto of any congressional resolution of disapproval of the agreement. In the House, that number is 142.
Senators favoring the agreement: 20
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI); Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH); Sen. Barbara Boxer (CA); Sen. Dick Durbin (IL); Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA); Sen. Al Franken (MN); Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY); Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM); Sen. Tim Kaine (VA); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN); Sen. Angus King (I-ME); Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT); Sen. Chris Murphy (CT); Sen. Bill Nelson (FL); Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT); Sen. Brian Schatz (HI); Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (NH); Sen. Jon Tester (MT) Sen. Tom Udall (NM); Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA).
In addition, The Hill says these seven senators are "leaning yes":
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT); Sen. Tom Carper (DE); Sen. Joe Manchin (WV); Sen. Claire McCaskill (MO); Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR); Sen. Jack Reed (RI); Sen. Harry Reid (NV).
The Post has two categories of yes leaners: They include the seven senators listed by The Hill plus Sen. Ed Markey (MA); Mazie Hirono (HI); Sheldon Whitehouse (RI).
The newspaper counts these nine Democrats as undecided/unclear: Sen. Michael Bennet (CO); Sen. Cory Booker (NJ); Sen. Ben Cardin (MD); Sen. Bob Casey (PA); Sen. Chris Coons (DE); Sen. Joe Donnelly (IN); Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (ND); Sen. Gary Peters (MI); Sen. Mark Warner (VA).
The Hill counts 30 senators as definite foes of the agreement, with 23 "leaning no" and one, Mike Enzi, undecided/unclear. The Post counts 17 senators as "no" votes and 40 more as "leaning no," including Menendez and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
Here is The Hill's House count of 48 Democrats who so far have announced they favor the agreement:
Rep. Don Beyer (VA); Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR); Rep. Lois Capps (CA); Rep. André Carson (IN); Rep. Katherine Clark (MA); Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC); Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA); Rep. John Conyers (MI); Rep. Joe Courtney (CT); Rep. Danny Davis (IL); Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR); Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX); Rep. Donna Edwards (MD); Rep. Keith Ellison (MN); Rep. Anna Eshoo (CA); Rep. Sam Farr (CA); Rep. John Garamendi (CA); Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (IL); Rep. Raúl Grijalva (AZ); Rep. Jim Himes (CT); Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (GA) Rep. Hank Johnson (GA); Rep. Dan Kildee (MI); Rep. Barbara Lee (CA); Rep. Sandy Levin (MI); Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA); Rep. Doris Matsui (CA); Rep. Betty McCollum (MN); Rep. Jim McDermott (WA); Rep. Jim McGovern (MA); Rep. Seth Moulton (MA); Rep. Beto O’Rourke (TX); Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ); Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA); Rep. Mark Pocan (WI); Rep. David Price (NC); Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL); Rep. Adam Schiff (CA); Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY); Rep. Jackie Speier (CA); Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA); Rep. Mark Takano (CA); Rep. Mike Thompson (CA); Rep. Niki Tsongas (MA); Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD); Rep. Tim Walz (MN); Rep. Peter Welch (VT); Rep. John Yarmuth (KY).
These 11 Democratic representatives say they will oppose the agreement:
Rep. Ted Deutch (FL); Rep. Eliot Engel (NY); Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL); Rep. Steve Israel (NY); Rep. Nita Lowey (NY); Rep. Grace Meng (NY); Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY); Rep. David Scott (GA); Rep. Brad Sherman (CA); Rep. Albio Sires (NJ); Rep. Juan Vargas (CA).
These two lean no:
Rep. Alan Grayson (FL) and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (CA).