President Barack Obama has secured the support of 34 Senate Democrats for the nuclear deal with Iran, ensuring sufficient backing to sustain his veto of any legislation aimed at derailing the agreement.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland on Wednesday became the 34th Senate lawmaker to announce that she’s supporting the deal negotiated with Iran and world powers earlier this year.
“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime,” she said in a statement. “I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb.”
Momentum has been building in the White House’s favor all month. Just two Senate Democrats — Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey — have announced opposition to the measure, while all other Democrats have said that — despite some concerns with the agreement — it presents the best available option to prevent a nuclear threat from Iran.
Late Wednesday, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for the deal, saying that if she is elected president, she would enforce it “aggressively.”
Great news that the Iran Deal has enough votes; as POTUS, I would aggressively enforce it and counter Iran’s other malicious activities. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 3, 2015Foes of the deal plan a vote on a measure disapproving of the agreement when Congress returns from its summer recess.
Among them, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, who tweeted his disapproval on Wednesday, promising to “reverse” it if he’s elected:
When I'm President, we won't just reverse President Obama's dangerous Iran deal. We will increase sanctions on Iran.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 2, 2015Obama has been clear that he would veto that measure if it passed, and two-thirds of the Senate would have had to vote to override that veto. Now, the White House has secured enough Democratic support to ensure victory.
The next question will be whether or not Democrats muster sufficient support to block consideration of the measure entirely. If 41 senators back the Iran deal, Democrats will be able to filibuster legislation opposing it and block the disapproval measure from coming to the Senate floor.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
Carrie Dann