M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO McConnell shuts off Iran debate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved Tuesday evening to end debate on a bipartisan bill allowing Congress to weigh in on a nuclear deal with Iran, positioning the legislation for final passage, though without some of the strict language sought by hawkish Republicans.

Facing expiring highway and PATRIOT Act provisions and eager to begin work on trade pacts, McConnell (R-Ky.) was left little other choice than to wrap up consideration of the Iran bill after a power play from Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) disrupted an agreement last week to allow votes on several contentious amendments.


Democrats were unwilling to reopen those amendment talks, after Cotton tried to force votes to require Iran to shutter its nuclear facilities and make Tehran recognize Israel. So McConnell officially blocked the Senate from considering any more amendments on Tuesday, setting up votes for Thursday to break a filibuster on the bill.

The move represents a major win for a bipartisan compromise forged by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Ben Cardin (D-Md.). Their bill would allow Congress to vote on whether to lift legislative sanctions on Iran that will be the linchpin of any nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. Opponents of a nuclear deal would have to muster veto-proof majorities to block Obama from lifting such sanctions, though a future president could also decide to scuttle any deal made this year if Iran is found to be violating terms of the deal.

Depending on whether any one senator forces the Senate to jump through procedural hoops, the consideration of the bill could be finished late this week or sometime next week. But whenever it comes up for a final vote, it is expected to easily clear the Senate and then be approved by the House next week, sending it to the president for his signature.

“We’re going to complete the bill this week very successfully and move on to something else,” Corker told reporters. “This is a 90-plus vote on the floor.”

Added Cardin: “We’re anxious to get this bill done.”

McConnell refused to reveal his intentions on how he would proceed until the very end, not even sharing his plans with his top lieutenants. Members of McConnell’s leadership team expected him to move to end debate on Monday, but McConnell delayed the move until Tuesday to allow him to discuss the matter with his party during a closed-door lunch.

McConnell told Republicans there that he intended to wrap up work on the bill so that the House can pass it next week. Despite GOP senators’ desires for votes on Rubio’s Israel provision as well as amendments on the release of Americans held in Iran and requiring that Congress approve of any deal with Iran, there was little dissent when McConnell finally laid out his plan to his caucus.

“We ought to complete this legislation,” said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who’d been pressing for a vote on Rubio’s Israel provision. “This place has changed a lot from the Harry Reid days. We ought to get stuff done.”

The legislation marked a departure from Republicans’ hopes of opening up the Senate’s amendment process. Only Republicans submitted amendments to the bill, and only two of those received a vote: proposals by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to treat a nuclear deal like a treaty and by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to require certification that Iran is no longer sponsoring terrorism. Both were defeated last week.