For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





The Iran nuclear agreement picked up its 34th supporter in the Senate this morning, assuring that even if Congress rejects the deal (which it probably will), it won’t be able to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the rejection.

In the end, this probably didn’t matter much, since Nancy Pelosi says the House already had enough votes to sustain a veto, but it never hurts to be sure. Next up: If Obama can round up 41 votes, the Senate won’t even be able to reject the deal in the first place and no veto will be necessary. I think that’s a long shot, since now, with passage secured, it leaves wavering senators free to vote against it in the knowledge that their vote won’t matter. We’ll see.

UPDATE: And the 34th and deciding senator is…drum roll, please…Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring next year.