Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the leading Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is calling on the Biden administration to engage more with Congress before finalizing an agreement to reenter the Iran nuclear deal, asserting that lawmakers deserve to be briefed and provided the opportunity to raise concerns on such a consequential foreign policy decision.
In a letter sent to President Joe Biden on Tuesday, the Texas Republican sounded the alarm over plans to reenter an agreement similar to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — a deal scrapped by the Trump administration that looked to place a limit on Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for a rollback of international sanctions — without congressional input.
McCaul said a recent Politico report stating the administration planned to move forward without briefing Congress conflicts with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s previous testimony.
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“I write to express my strong concerns that, as your administration reaches the conclusion of over 16 months of negotiations on a new Iran nuclear deal, Congress is not being properly updated on the proposals being set forth,” he wrote.
“Moreover, a White House official recently made concerning comments, published in Politico, indicating that the administration does not plan to offer another briefing to Members of Congress unless a deal is reached. This directly contradicts Secretary Antony Blinken’s testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 10, 2021, where he said, ‘We’re determined to consult on the takeoff, not on the landing, across the board. But, yes, particularly when it comes to Iran.’”
McCaul noted that members on both sides of the aisle have expressed reservations about the agreement’s effectiveness, with critics insisting the JCPOA was counterproductive to its goal and that renewing it could aid Iran in producing or obtaining nuclear weapons.
“Members of Congress have expressed wide-ranging concerns regarding the national security implications of nuclear negotiations, including with respect to the Iranian regime’s chilling assassination plots against American citizens on U.S. soil. As you know, Congress must review any agreement that is reached, pursuant to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act,” he continued.
“It is completely unreasonable for this administration to think that a review could be favorable without a robust history of engagement with Congress, to include an increased tempo of briefings as negotiations reach their purported end game,” McCaul said. “The lack of recent engagement with Congress is even more shocking given that Iran’s parliament was reportedly briefed on August 17.”
As reports indicate that a deal is growing closer to being finalized, McCaul argued that the lack of engagement from the administration indicates the White House is aware of the misgivings lawmakers will have and is looking to “sell a bad deal to the American people.”
“The only logical conclusion to draw is that Iran’s negotiators are pleased with the outcome of negotiations, while U.S. negotiators are still determining how to make further compromises and best sell a bad deal to the American people,” he said.
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“I urge you to provide a series of briefings to Congress, as soon as possible and lasting through the conclusion of the statutorily required INARA review process,” McCaul said. “As the elected representatives of the American people, it is vital Congress have a clear view over how any agreement with Iran does or does not address the full scope of Iran’s malign activities. This remains the case regardless of what position you ultimately adopt with respect to the European Union’s latest draft proposal.”
Republicans have been vocal about their opposition to reentering the deal, with senior lawmakers and former administration officials saying it presents a national security threat to the United States and allied countries, including Israel. Critics on both sides of the aisle have noted that Iran violated the previous agreement on multiple occasions and that re-upping a deal could inadvertently lead to funding terrorism.
