Democrat Tom Carper became the 30th U.S. senator to support the nuclear agreement with Iran, leaving President Barack Obama just four votes short of preventing Congress from blocking the deal.
Carper, of Delaware, announced his position in an opinion article published Thursday in his home-state newspaper, The News Journal.
“America and our five negotiating partners … have reached an historic agreement with Iran to end their pursuit of nuclear weapons for years and, maybe, forever,” Carper wrote. “The deal provides Iran an opportunity to rebuild its economy and shed the pariah status it’s borne for decades.”
The Republican-controlled Congress has until the end of the day Sept. 17 to pass a resolution disapproving the agreement between six world powers and the Islamic Republic. Obama has said he will veto a disapproval resolution if it gets to his desk.
Obama and top administration officials have been prodding Democratic lawmakers by phone and in person. They’ve also made pitches to Jewish American leaders to counter lobbying by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies urging Congress to block the accord.
Obama Pitch
Obama on Friday will speak by webcast to members of the Jewish Federations of North America, an umbrella group for organizations supporting the Jewish community. Netanyahu, who has warned that the deal would make it easier for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and threaten Israel, addressed the leaders earlier this month.
Earlier this week, Obama gave interviews to local news programs at stations in the home states of seven Democratic senators who haven’t declared their positions on the accord.
While the House has enough votes to pass a measure disapproving the accord, it’s unclear whether the Senate does. Assuming all 54 Senate Republicans oppose the accord, they would need support from six Democrats to get the 60 votes necessary to advance a resolution. If the resolution makes it to the floor of the Senate, the president would need backing from 34 senators to prevent a veto from being overridden.
Thus far only two Democratic senators — Chuck Schumer of New York, the third-ranking Democrat in the chamber, and Bob Menendez of New Jersey — have said they oppose the deal.
As of Thursday, 14 Senate Democrats hadn’t announced how they’ll vote. Those who have yet to disclose a position include Maryland’s Ben Cardin, New Jersey’s Cory Booker and Delaware’s other senator, Chris Coons, who plans to announce his decision on the accord on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
In the 435-seat House, at least 230 Republicans and 14 Democrats have announced opposition to the deal.