THE HILL: Go ‘nuclear’ to stop Obama’s Iran deal, urge 57 House Republicans in letter.
Dozens of House Republican lawmakers are making a late stab at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to abandon the filibuster on legislation to block the nuclear deal with Iran.
A total of 57 House lawmakers signed on to a letter led by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) telling McConnell that blocking the deal was “simply so consequential” that it demanded a change to the Senate’s rules, known as invoking the “nuclear option.”
“Our request to eliminate the filibuster for some votes simply underscores that in a democracy the majority should decide,” they wrote. “The super-majority now required to advance legislation is 60 votes, which is not serving our country well.”
The letter is part of a sentiment that has grown dramatically in the House in recent days, as it became increasingly apparently that critics of the Iran accord would fall short of being able to send a resolution of disapproval to the president’s desk. As The Hill had previously reported, Smith began circulating the letter on Capitol Hill earlier this week.
Senate Democrats successfully filibustered legislation killing the deal on three separate occasions this month, most recently on Thursday. Despite the support of some Democrats, opponents of the Iran pact could not muster the 60 votes needed to move forward with rejecting it.
McConnell has firmly rejected calls to change the Senate’s rules.
I was hoping for more from a Republican Senate.