Obama Puts An Emphatic Veto Threat Exclamation Point On His Iran Deal Victory

Just in case Republicans thought that they had any hope of stopping the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, the White House issued a veto threat that put an emphatic exclamation point on President Obama’s victory.

In a statement of administration policy, the White House made sure that it’s over for the GOP:

The Administration strongly opposes H.J. Res. 64, a joint resolution of disapproval of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between the P5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany), the European Union, and Iran on July 14, 2015. Enactment of the resolution would greatly undermine our national security interests on multiple fronts. It would effectively block the international community from peacefully and verifiably preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, allow for the resumption of an unconstrained and unchecked Iranian nuclear program, and lead to the unraveling of the international sanctions regime that was sustained because the Administration sought to diplomatically resolve concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Further, enactment of the resolution would deal a devastating blow to America’s credibility as a leader of diplomacy and could ultimately result in the exhaustion of alternatives to military action. If this resolution were enacted, the hard work of sustaining a unified coalition to combat Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region would be much more difficult, as would America’s ability to lead the world on nuclear non-proliferation.

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The JCPOA must be assessed by what it achieves on its central goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon – and the Administration urges the Congress to fully consider the stakes for our national security of walking away without the international community. Without the JCPOA in place, Iran would likely resume the advancement of its nuclear program without any of the constraints or transparency required by this deal and without the international unity of our sanctions regime, which would be the worst of all possible worlds, leaving us in a position of weakness, not strength.

The President has made it clear that he will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of the JCPOA. If the President were presented with H.J. Res. 64, he would veto the resolution.

In other words, if Republicans were successful in killing the deal, they would weaken America. The President has the 41 votes that he needs to block the resolution in the Senate.

The veto threat was a reminder to Republicans that they have no path to victory. Obama has sealed everything down. The warmongers have been defeated as a path to peace has been chosen over the road to war.

It’s all over for Republicans. President Obama has got them beat at every turn. In case they didn’t get the message, Obama has his veto hammer in hand and ready to strike them down.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association