Nine targets in Iran summer lobbying blitz
Key Democratic voices are taking sides on the Iran nuclear deal, but many prominent lawmakers are still up for grabs. Here’s a look at some of the lawmakers that both sides are focused on in the weeks to come:
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
It’s hard to overestimate how much scrutiny is zeroed in on Schumer, who is torn between competing forces.
{mosads}As a Jewish lawmaker representing one of the country’s most vibrant Jewish communities, he’s under intense pressure to side with leaders of Israel and oppose the Iran deal. But as the next in line to become the top Senate Democrat, he’s also under tremendous pressure to side with the president and make sure that Democrats have his back.
So far he’s declined to give any hints about how he’ll vote.
A decision against the deal could provide cover for a handful of other Democrats to follow suit.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)
As the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Cardin has helped steer the Senate’s oversight of the deal.
Working with committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Cardin helped set the stage for Congress’s review of the Iran deal next month.
He’s also expressed repeated criticism about some of the Obama administration’s tactics, such as its decision to bring the agreement to the United Nations Security Council before it was brought to Congress and the White House’s reluctance to talk about “side” deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“I haven’t set any specific time” for making a decision, Cardin told reporters on Tuesday.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
Gillibrand faces the same political pressure as Schumer, who has been getting an earful from advocates on both sides of the deal.
As such, she’s torn between the leader of her party and the anti-deal advocates such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
Stabenow is seen as the epitome of an on-the-fence bellwether.
She and a few other lawmakers have supported both the threat of increased sanctions over the past 18 months and made clear they want time for diplomacy to work its course.
Lawmakers in similar positions include Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)
If any Senate Republican votes in favor of the deal, it’s likely to be Flake.
The freshman Arizonan has taken a measured approach to the deal and could be willing to buck his party to support it, watchers said.
“I think they might get Flake,” acknowledged one pro-Israel advocate tracking the debate.
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.)
If Schumer is the man everyone is watching in the Senate, Engel may be the closest thing to his parallel in the House.
As a fellow Jewish New Yorker, Engel is under similar political pressures. He’s also the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He’s expressed criticism of some elements of the deal in the past but has yet to formally stake out a position.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)
Sherman is a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and has repeatedly expressed concerns about the deal.
Among other complaints, he has worried the Obama administration will largely ignore a congressional vote to kill the agreement and has openly speculated that the White House could be willing to break the law to see the deal through.
He has yet to take a formal stand on whether to the kill the deal.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)
Nadler had a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with President Obama last week, where the president tried to sooth any of his lingering concerns.
He has been hearing constantly from both sides and has yet to take a formal position.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)
As the head of the Democratic National Committee, Wasserman Schultz is under intense pressure to stick with both the president and Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential primary, who has endorsed the Iran deal.
But Wasserman Schultz is also being pressured to oppose the agreement and so far has yet to take a formal position.