Iran review bill approval sets up partisan battle
Senate passage of congressional review legislation presages a bitter vote over Iran negotiations in the event of a final deal.
The Senate's overwhelming approval May 7 of bipartisan legislation to review the Iran talks masks a deep partisan fissure that's almost guaranteed to crack wide open over the summer.
Even as the bill's Republican and Democratic co-sponsors held a joint news conference celebrating the 98-1 passage of their bill, lawmakers on both sides of the issue were busy gearing up for a tough fight over what comes next. Republicans all but promised to hold an up-or-down vote to lift sanctions if there's a final deal, while liberal Democrats scrambled to demonstrate that they have the votes to uphold a presidential veto if it comes to that.
"Make no mistake that this will not be the end of the story," Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., vowed on the Senate floor.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was the only senator to vote against the legislation, which the House is expected to take up as early as next week. He has publicly spoken of his desire to force negotiators to start over, with more stringent conditions placed on Iran.
