Senate Democrats Thursday were able to block a final GOP attempt to derail the Iran nuclear agreement.
For the third time in eight days, Democrats blocked a resolution of disapproval opposing the deal. The 56-42 procedural vote fell short of the 60 needed to end debate and send the resolution forward for an up-or-down vote, reported the Hill.
Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Charles Schumer of New York for a third time voted against moving to a final vote.
Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, who were both part of Wednesday night's GOP presidential debate in California, missed the vote. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also participated in the debate, but they made it back to Washington and voted to end the debate, according to the Hill.
Shortly before that vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., tried to send through an amendment designed to pressure Democrats into choosing between the implementation of the Iran deal and their loyalty to Israel and Americans imprisoned in Iran. It would have required Iran to formally recognize Israel and release Americans held in the country before Obama could lift sanctions. It needed 60 votes to pass, but Democrats managed to filibuster the new language and it failed 53-45, according to the Washington Examiner.
Thursday was the deadline lawmakers gave themselves to take action to stop the deal, which the Obama administration said will take effect after today.
The deal — negotiated between Iran, the U.S., the U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany — will lift economic sanctions against Tehran in exchange for the country agreeing not to immediately develop a nuclear bomb. Some Democrats and Republicans lead, on this issue, by conservatives, have criticized the deal as mere capitulation, for lacking any type of meaningful enforcement, and because the deal calls for Iran to receive $100-150 billion dollars from the world bank, which international experts say will be used to fund terrorist activities in the region and around the globe.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz, the conservative presidential candidate who has led the strong fight against the deal, spoke about it again last night during the second GOP primary debate broadcast on CNN, and reiterated his point that it puts the world a step closer to nuclear war and "makes President Obama the world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism."
