House conservatives are forcing an effective strategy to fight back against the Iran nuclear deal, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to lead is imperiling the effort and putting America at risk, according to one of the fiercest House critics of leadership.
Heading into this week, House and Senate leaders planned to proceed with votes to accept or reject the Iran deal, knowing full well that opponents did not have enough votes to override a veto from President Obama in the Senate.
House conservatives changed the dynamics by refusing to approve the rule to organize debate on the up-or-down vote. Instead, House Republicans will pursue a three-pronged attack. One vote will still focus on the deal itself. Another will declare the president in violation of the Corker-Cardin bill for not handing over the details of side agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency concerning nuclear inspections. The final bill would forbid the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran until January of 2017.
“The new strategy is a good strategy. If we would have gone with the first bill just to disapprove, that would have strictly been a symbolic vote. Plus, we would have been breaking the law we just passed in May, the Corker-Cardin bill,” said Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Corker-Cardin required the Obama administration to turn over all text related to the agreement within five days of negotiators signing it. Lawmakers subsequently discovered the secret side deals and the administration will not provide details on it.
Yoho says Obama clearly violated the terms of the law he signed.
“The president has already gone beyond that time period. He’s not given us the full information. Had we taken that vote when we first came back, we’d have been breaking our own law that we just passed and we would have codified the president moving forward with this,” said Yoho.
While some lawmakers believe the failure to provide the details of the side agreement means the 60-day review period should be paused until that information is provided, Yoho thinks it should qualify as a deal-killer.
“I would prefer that it’s struck down because we’re beyond the time period where he should have been in compliance,” said Yoho, who believes Obama’s failure to honor Corker-Cardin should result in the agreement being trashed and negotiators heading back to the table.
While the strategy is much bolder in recent days, it’s likelihood of succeeding borders on impossible, not only because it would be tough to find 60 votes for it in the Senate but because Senate leaders have no interest in trying to fight back.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sent a letter to McConnell, pleading for the Senate to follow the House lead. McConnell flatly rejected the idea and Corker himself said Thursday that the GOP tried to stop the deal but just couldn’t.
That’s not acceptable for Yoho.
“For Mitch McConnell to say we tried and failed, leadership is lead or get out of the way. If that’s the way he feels, he needs to get out of the way,” said Yoho, who believes the American people are tired of watching the GOP Congress pile up defeat after defeat.
“The American people don’t want us to try. They want us to do,” said Yoho. “The American people are fed up with Congress trying. They want us to resolve these problems. They overwhelmingly don’t support this Iran deal and we’re the only mechanism in government that can stop this.”
If Congress fails to reject the Iran deal, as seems increasingly likely, opponents have floated the idea of cutting off funding for implementing the deal during the appropriations process later this month.
Yoho is open to that idea but once again fears McConnell does not have any stomach for the fight.
“We’ve already sent appropriations bills to the Senate. We did that last year too and the reason they were never brought up is we could blame (Democratic Leader) Harry Reid. Mitch McConnell’s in charge and he hasn’t brought one of those up. It’s because of the threat Harry Reid may block that,” said Yoho.
“Again, if you’re going to lead, lead. If not, then get out of the way. Bring those bills up. Let the people over there decide. If Harry Reid blocks them, let the American people know Harry Reid is blocking the progress of this country,” he added.
Yoho says there is no clearer evidence of America’s disgust with the current GOP leadership than the current state of the 2016 presidential race.
“Look who’s leading the polls in the Republican Party. All outsiders: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina. The American people are hoping people get in there that put politics aside. Don’t be a Republican. Don’t be a Democrat. Do what’s right for America,” said Yoho.
