Jan 10, 2016

President Barack Obama will tout his nuclear deal with Iran as a key foreign policy accomplishment that will keep the nation safe during his last State of the Union the evening of Jan. 12.

Hours later, House Republicans will vote to dismantle it.

The Jan. 13 vote on legislation that would prohibit the president from delivering on sanctions relief called for under the deal is an early sign that Republicans may hold multiple such votes in the runup to the 2016 presidential elections. Democrats are already warning against making the deal a partisan issue, urging Republicans to avoid a series of doomed show votes that will only prevent both parties from working together to keep Iran under pressure.

Viewers watching the president's final address should also listen for any hint at a change of strategy for defeating the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The new House speaker, Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has instructed his committee chairmen to see whether there is support among lawmakers for a war authorization in Syria and Iraq.

And the president may flesh out his plans for closing the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as he promised to do when he took office seven years ago. Last week, Kuwait saw the last of its detainees released after a decadelong, multimillion dollar lobbying campaign.