Senate Democrats say they don’t yet have the 41 needed votes to filibuster a resolution of disapproval of the nuclear deal with Iran, and are continuing to push Republicans to move straight to final passage using a 60-vote threshold.
“I will tell you this, we are working that question now,” Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said, when asked whether they have the votes after a private caucus meeting with fellow Democrats. “We are down to three or four loose ends. It was a positive caucus.”
Those “loose ends” are Democrats who say they will vote against the resolution of disapproval on final passage, but are in favor of a procedural vote to move ahead on the measure rather than block consideration entirely. Both Democratic leaders and President Obama want to block final consideration of the bill because it requires only 51 votes for passage and would end up requiring a presidential veto.
To block a final vote, 41 of the 42 Democrats who support the Iran deal would have to filibuster.
But Democrats also don’t want to be accused of filibustering a critical resolution, especially as public approval of the Iran deal continues to slide in polls. So they are continuing to push Republicans to skip the preliminary vote and require a 60-vote threshold for final passage.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has refused the request and Republicans have stepped up accusations that Democrats are planning to kill consideration of the resolution.
