Iran No Confidence Vote

The Senate held its first showdown vote on the Iranian nuclear deal Thursday, with 58 Senators having declared their opposition, including four Democrats and Republican non-hawks like Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky. The American public is also overwhelmingly opposed, with a Pew poll this week finding 21% approval for the agreement versus 49% disapproval.

So it says something about President Obama’s contempt for Congress that he browbeat and threatened 42 Democrats to filibuster the vote so he can duck having to veto a resolution of disapproval. The President may think he can spin 42 Senate votes into political vindication, and we’re sure he’ll get media support for that view. But Americans should read a filibuster as a tacit Democratic admission of no confidence in an agreement they fear voting on.

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In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Mr. Pompeo and constitutional litigator David Rivkin argue that Mr. Obama’s failure to submit the full agreement to Congress within the 60-day review period means Mr. Obama “remains unable lawfully to waive or lift statutory Iran-related sanctions.” They urge Congress to vote “to register their view that the president has not complied with his obligations under the act.”

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Read the full article here.