For the second day in a row, Secretary of State John Kerry worked to sell an Iran nuclear deal behind closed doors, starting with House Democrats and later moving across the Capitol to the Senate, where he met in a classified bipartisan briefing with senators.
House Democrats who streamed out the meeting, helmed by Kerry and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, said the two men made a strong case not only for the nuclear deal, but for allowing the White House to negotiate without Congress passing a bill requiring their approval.
“What they are asking is that we do not do anything to undermine their ability to strike a deal,” Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., told the Washington Examiner in an interview after the meeting. “Both secretaries said this is why we think this is as good of an agreement that could be reached, not only with Iran, but with our allies. How often does China and Russia work with us, and are on our side?”
Kerry’s lobbying comes hours before the Senate Foreign Relations panel is expected to approve a bipartisan bill to give lawmakers a say in nuclear agreement. Proponents are aiming for a veto-proof supermajority that would require significant Democratic support.
Kerry is working to convince Democrats not to back the legislation and according to Becerra, he is making headway. Becerra said Democrats packed the meeting and asked detailed questions about the agreement, with few rising to express their opposition.
On Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., suggested Republicans could pass with a veto-proof majority a bill that would require congressional approval of the nuclear deal.
Becerra scoffed at the remark.
“I haven’t seen him whipping the Democrats,” he said. “Just gauging the caucus today, and it was a pretty full caucus, I didn’t see a whole lot of dissension in the ranks. It seemed to me that people were listening very intently.”
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., called Kerry’s presentation “extraordinary” and said the caucus was assured that the deal would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “It broadened and deepened the confidence in every aspect of what is still being negotiated,” Eshoo said.
