White House press secretary Josh Earnest said administration officials were disappointed but not surprised by Sen. Chuck Schumer’s opposition to the Iran deal and suggested that Senate Democrats could hold it against him when they choose their new leader in early 2017.
“I would describe this as an announcement that was not particularly surprising to anyone here at the White House even if it was disappointing,” Earnest said, noting that it doesn’t change President Obama’s confidence in his ability to mobilize a substantial amount of Democrats to support the deal.
While Earnest refrained from saying Schumer’s opposition to the deal should prevent him from succeeding Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., as the next Senate Democratic leader when Reid retires after the 2016 elections, he hinted that his voting pattern likely would be a consideration.
“Ultimately, that is a question for Democratic senators,” he said before adding that “he certainly wouldn’t be surprised” if other senators weighed Schumer’s voting pattern before voting for their new leader.
The differences between Obama and Schumer on Middle East policy date back to 2003 when Schumer voted in favor of the Iraq war, Earnest said.
The Iraq war, he said, “has not served the United States very well — that’s the essence of the difference.”
Earnest declined to comment on whether the timing of Schumer’s announcement took the White House off guard, coming as it did during the middle of the first Republican presidential debate Thursday night.
Earlier in the week, Earnest said he didn’t expect Obama to spend his August vacation on Martha’s Vineyard lobbying Democrats on the Iran deal. On Friday he altered that statement slightly to say there may be “one-off” calls from Obama to some Democrats, but the majority of his vacation would be spent in leisure time or on the golf course or “a little bit of both.”
