Most of the House Democrats who have come out against the Iran nuclear agreement play important roles when it comes to foreign policy, which is giving opponents of the deal hope that more Democrats will find a way to oppose it in the next few weeks.
Two of the nine Democrats opposed to the deal are the top Democratic voices in the House when it comes to funding the State Department and establishing foreign policy guidance for State.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. Last week, she said she can’t support the deal because it doesn’t do enough to curb Iran’s nuclear appetites and gives Iran access to conventional weapons that it could use to threaten its neighbors.
“This agreement will leave the international community with limited options in 15 years to prevent nuclear breakout in Iran, which will be an internationally-recognized nuclear threshold state, capable of producing highly enriched uranium,” she said.
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has been briefed the most about the agreement. Engel said the Obama administration has not been able to convince him that the deal would put appropriate restraints on Iran.
“I have raised questions and concerns throughout the negotiating phase and review period,” he said Thursday. “The answers I’ve received simply don’t convince me that this deal will keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands, and may in fact strengthen Iran’s position as a destabilizing and destructive influence across the Middle East.”
To be clear, Jewish Democrats are likely under more pressure to oppose the agreement, given the strong opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and widespread criticism that the deal could leave Israel open to conventional weapon attacks from Iran. Both Lowey and Engel are Jewish.
Still, Democratic opposition to the deal on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is broad, and one Republican aide said that likely reflects efforts by committee members to ponder the details.
“The fact that that rank-and-file Democratic members on pertinent committees with direct oversight over the State Department have come out against the deal illustrates that this is not a partisan issue, it’s about what’s best for the U.S. and our allies in the region,” the aide said.
Two other Jewish members of the committee, Reps. Brad Sherman of California and Ted Deutch of Florida, said last week they can’t support it. Deutch is the top Democrat on the Middle East subcommittee, and Sherman is a member of the subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.
But two other non-Jewish Democrats on the committee have also said they oppose it: Reps. Albio Sires of New Jersey, and Grace Meng of New York.
Including Engel, five of the 19 Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats opposed the deal, and that number could grow. There are four other Jewish members on the committee who could conceivably oppose it, including Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, who has hinted he could come out against it.
A few others are undecided, and as of Tuesday, there was only one committee Democrat who had said he supports the deal: Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. According to The Hill, two other Democrats are “leaning yes”: Reps. Joaquin Castro of Texas and Robin Kelly of Illinois.
Outside of the Foreign Affairs Committee, three other Democrats have said they are definite “no” votes: Reps. Steve Israel and Kathleen Rice of New York, and Juan Vargas of California.
