Something extraordinary happened in the House of Representatives yesterday.
As Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Sarah Palin, and Glenn Beck were speaking to a huge rally in front of the U.S. Capitol against the controversial nuclear agreement with Iran, a rebellion by rank-and-file House members forced House Speaker John Boehner to abruptly alter how the House will vote on the nuclear accord.
According to some accounts, opposition by many GOP House members on how Boehner planned to deal with the Iran deal was so strong that there was talk of ousting him as Speaker if he did not change course.
The rebellion was led by Congressmen Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Mike Pompeo (R-KS) who believe President Obama has not complied with provisions of the Corker-Cardin bill which require him to provide all documents associated with the Iran nuclear agreement to Congress – including all side agreements – for a congressional review.
Roskam and Pompeo believe this includes the secret side deals between the IAEA and Iran under which Iranians will collect nuclear samples for the IAEA. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Pompeo were told about these side deals by accident during a July visit to IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Obama officials told Congress the IAEA has briefed them on the side deal documents but they will not be provided to U.S. officials or Congress. Secretary of State John Kerry has claimed the side deals are part of a normal and confidential IAEA arrangement to verify nuclear agreements with a member state. However, as I assessed in an August 31 Investor’s Business Daily op-ed, one side deal document shown to the Associated Press appears to be a first draft written by an Obama administration official to drop an issue that was an obstacle to a final nuclear agreement by concealing it in an IAEA-Iran side deal that Congress cannot see.
If true, this was a deliberate attempt by the Obama administration to violate the law.
Many members of Congress already were outraged over the Iran nuclear deal which they believe will serve as a glide path to an Iranian weapon, has weak verification and will provide over $100 billion in sanctions relief that Iran is certain to spend on terrorism, destabilizing the Middle East, ballistic missiles, and its nuclear program. These lawmakers are tired of the endless series of lies by Obama officials about the nuclear negotiations and the dangerous concessions made by the United States to reach this agreement.
The secret side deals issue has pushed many members of Congress too far and led rank-and-file House Republicans to object to Speaker Boehner’s plan to move forward with a plan agreed to under the Corker-Cardin bill to pass a resolution of disapproval against the Iran deal. Congressman Roskam and Pompeo as well as many at yesterday’s rally such as Senator Cruz, Frank Gaffney and Mark Levin, insist that the failure of the president to turn over the secret side deals is a violation of the law, prevents the clock on congressional review of the nuclear agreement from starting and bars Mr Obama from lifting sanctions against Iran.
Republican opposition to a resolution of disapproval has been growing because of a widespread belief that the Iran deal should have been submitted for Senate ratification as a treaty which would require a 2/3 vote of approval. By contrast, a resolution of disapproval needs veto-proof and filibuster-proof majorities. This means the Iran deal can survive congressional review with only 1/3 plus one support in either house.
Because of the GOP House rebellion, Boehner dropped the resolution of disapproval. Instead, the House the House reportedly will pass three resolutions on the Iran agreement: one that says the president has violated Corker-Cardin by not providing the side deals to Congress; one barring President Obama from lifting sanctions against Iran and a third “approving” the Iran deal that House Republicans will vote against and most Democrats will support.
The purpose of this new approach is to highlight that the president violated the law by not providing Congress with the side deals and make House and Senate supporters of the Iran deal cast public votes on this issue. This approach also may allow members of Congress to sue President Obama for lifting Iran sanctions in violation of Corker-Cardin.
Senator Ted Cruz just announced his own alterative approach for congressional review of the Iran deal. Cruz wants Senate Majority Leader Boehner to determine that Congress cannot consider the Iran deal because the side deals were not provided. He also proposed a sense of the Senate resolution declaring the Iran deal is a treaty and that there is insufficient support in the Senate to ratify it as such. Finally, Cruz wants McConnell and Boehner to warn banks that they may face billions in civil (and possibly even criminal) liability once President Obama leaves office if they release funds to Iran under the nuclear deal.
It is unclear at this time what will happen next. Senate Republican leaders have criticized the new House approach on how to vote on the Iran deal. Senator Corker said yesterday that Congress is “much better off” passing a resolution of disapproval and claimed the Iran deal will go forward unless the House passes one by September 17. I spoke with Senator Lindsey Graham who told me yesterday the new House approach is a mistake since it will not force President Obama to veto a resolution of disapproval.
Senator Mitch McConnell appears to be ignoring the House rebellion and has scheduled a procedural vote on a resolution of disapproval today at 3:45 PM. McConnell has condemned Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s plan to use a filibuster to block a Senate vote on the Iran deal.
This confusing mess is the result of President Obama trying to force through a dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran brought about though national security fraud that is opposed by the American people by a 2-1 margin. Yesterday’s rally and others held across the United States show how intense popular opposition is to this agreement. House Republicans and Senator Cruz are to be congratulated for acting on the American people’s concerns by insisting on a tougher approach to the Iran deal.
While the president and congressional Democrats probably will be able to block these efforts, this groundswell of opposition to President Obama’s national security incompetence will likely have a significant effect on the 2016 elections and beyond. Yesterday’s GOP House rebellion is an indication that GOP congressional leaders who fail to recognize this do so at their peril.
See Full Story at Center for Security Policy
Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst, is senior vice president for policy and programs with the Center for Security Policy. He worked in national security posts in the U.S. government for 25 years with the CIA, the State Department, and the House Intelligence Committee. Follow him on Twitter @fredfleitz.
