With the ink still drying on this week’s agreement over the nuclear pact with Iran, President Obama may have overstepped the perceived public mandate at the potential cost of the entire deal.
Only days after announcing an end to the six-nation sanctions on exports from Iran, the administration, led by Secretary of State John Kerry, moved quickly to get international approval for the deal.
Kerry submitted draft copies of the deal to members of the UN Security Council to speed up the timeline on an expected vote next week, which will bind member nations to the terms of the agreement.
In announcing the push for UN approval, Kerry warned Congress that a position of non-support from the Senate would immediately put the U.S. in “non-compliance” with the UN.
Earlier in the week indications were that Obama had significant support from Democrat members of the Senate, but that may now be changing.
Responding to Kerry’s pronouncement, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) was joined by Democrat colleague Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) is roundly denouncing the administration’s attempt to sidestep Congress as an “affront to the American people”.
