Senate support grows for Iran deal

President Barack Obama's Iran deal looks increasingly likely to survive a challenge from congressional Republicans after several swing Democrats said they would back the deal just as the Senate sped toward recess on Wednesday.

Minutes after Senate leaders locked in an agreement to begin debating the nuclear deal on Sept. 8, Independent Maine Sen. Angus King came to the floor to announce his support for the agreement. King's decision will make it hard for GOP opponents to block the lifting of legislative sanctions when the Senate votes no later than Sept. 17.

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"This is the most difficult decision I've ever had to make," King said. "But in the end I decided the terms of this agreement are preferable to the alternatives."

In addition to King, Democratic Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Tim Kaine of Virginia also voiced support for the deal this week. Their support is invaluable for the White House: The trio of Democratic Caucus members were early backers of the review law that allows Congress to hold an up or down vote on the deal. And their support transforms the whip-counting operation for Republicans hoping to block the deal.

While there are technically enough undecided Democrats for the GOP to marshal a veto-proof majority against the deal, many are reliable allies of the administration and are expected to back the agreement. More skeptical senators like Chuck Schumer of New York or Robert Menendez of New Jersey could still end up voting against the Iran deal and bring some colleagues with them, but the battle for votes appears to be a race to 60 instead of 67.

If Republicans can get at least six Democrats to support their cause in the Senate to break a filibuster, it would still be a significant achievement for the GOP. Sanctions on Iran would stay in place for 22 more days as Obama vetoed the disapproval resolution and Congress voted to override a veto, and a 60-vote bloc is always difficult to build. But it wouldn't be enough to block the deal.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) came to the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon and sounded like he'd made a decision. But Flake, who Obama is aggressively courting to support the deal, still said he was undecided.

"I can only support an agreement that can endure," he said as he left the floor with a long summer recess and a big decision ahead of him.

With senators antsy to begin their August recess after a mostly fruitless week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reached an agreement to start consideration of the Iran deal as soon as lawmakers return from the break. They also agreed on a process to finish a cybersecurity bill, but it could be months before that gets a vote in the Senate.

McConnell has said he hopes that all 100 senators participate in the Iran discussion while at their desks and has suggested that all committee hearings be canceled during the deliberations.

Reid, in a rare moment of comity between the two rival leaders, said: "The debate we're going to have in a matter of weeks, I want it to be … dignified, befitting the gravity of the issue of the day. This is a step forward."

Locking in the debate before breaking for the recess was a necessity with Rosh Hashanah disrupting the few days that the Senate will be in session in September. Under the agreement, the Senate will have no more than seven days to debate the Iran bill before proceeding to a vote.

On Wednesday alone there were four planned briefings and hearings on the Iran deal, with an evening classified briefing between senators and State Department official Wendy Sherman and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz expected to cap off the summer schedule until September.

Senate Republicans indicated this week they are planning for a vote on a resolution of disapproval for the deal with Iran. If the GOP determines it cannot get 60 votes behind that resolution, then they could put a resolution of approval up for a vote with the intention of it failing and embarrassing Obama, sources said.

The final text of the resolution that the Senate will vote on has not been publicly released. This week the House released its disapproval resolution, and Republicans said they already have enough votes to pass it.

But after several startling defections from New York House Democrats, like Steve Israel, Obama got some good news from the other side of the Capitol as well on Wednesday. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), who has a constituent held in Iran, announced he'd back the deal as well.

"No one has presented a credible alternative," Kildee said.