Even as President Barack Obama garnered enough votes in the U.S. Senate to ensure his veto of a congressional disapproval of his deal with Iran over its nuclear program could not be overridden, a Florida Republican is making a last ditch effort against the agreement.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said on Wednesday that she was backing the deal, giving Obama 34 votes in the Senate, enough to stop a veto override. U.S Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has come out in support of the Iran deal.
"No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime," Mikulski said on Wednesday. “I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb.”
Even as Obama appears to have the votes, U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., who is running to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate in 2016, doubled down on his efforts against the Iran deal. Jolly launched a petition urging Floridians to stand against Obama’s deal and launched a new Web video against it.
Jolly insisted the deal would help a regime which stood against the U..S. and Israel and could prompt more Middle Eastern nations to invest in nuclear weapons.
“Economically enriching the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism is a recipe for disaster,” Jolly said on Wednesday. “This deal is nothing more than a dishonest giveaway that will help Iran acquire a nuclear weapon and further endanger America and its allies.”
Jolly is not the only Republican in the Senate race focusing on the Iran deal. U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., came out swinging at U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., who is running for the Democratic nomination, for backing the Iran deal earlier this week.
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