Rep. Jerry Nadler backs Iran agreement.
Support in both the Senate and House for the Iran agreement grew again Thursday and
added an
important vote Friday, that of Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, making him the only Jewish member of Congress in the state to back the agreement:
Mr. Nadler, whose district stretches down Manhattan’s West Side and into Brooklyn, is closely identified with New York’s Jewish community: The 10th Congressional District is believed to have the largest Jewish population in the country, and Mr. Nadler has a history of energetic support for Israel. [...]
Mr. Nadler’s decision may help give cover to other Democrats who are still undecided on the Iran agreement. Without his support, backers of the deal would have faced a complete shutout of the Jewish members of New York’s federal delegation, whose views carry considerable weight on issues related to the Mideast and Israel. Senator Chuck Schumer has announced he will vote in disapproval, and so have Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Nita M. Lowey and Steve Israel, who are all senior members of the Democratic caucus.
Nadler was also the only Jewish member of the New York congressional delegation to vote against the resolution authorizing war against Iraq in 2002.
The Hill, which has been keeping a running "whip count" of how members of Congress have said they will vote when the Iran nuclear agreement comes up for their consideration in September now tallies those favoring it at 60 in the House and 26 in the Senate, all of them Democrats. Just two Senate Democrats—Schumer and Bob Menendez of New Jersey—have declared their opposition to the agreement. Twelve House Democrats have done so.
Under the Nuclear Agreement Review Act, Congress authorized itself to assess the Iran nuclear pact and approve or disapprove it. With none of the 54 Senate Republicans nor the 246 House Republicans in favor, both houses clearly have the votes to support a resolution of disapproval. But, as Karoun Demirjian wrote in The Washington Post Thursday, right now it's not even clear that Republicans will be able to garner enough Democratic votes in the Senate to overcome a potential filibuster.
But assuming they do, there is still the matter of a presidential veto. They need 67 votes to override a veto and getting there seems extremely unlikely. Even harder, in the House supporters of a resolution of disapproval of the agreement would need 44 Democrats added to the 246 Republicans in order to override. Right now, it would appear that the most they could get is 41 of those votes.
You can see The Hill's current whip count in the House here and in the Senate here.
Join us in urging senators and representatives to support the agreement and vote no on any resolution of disapproval.