Free Republic

In Senator Ted Cruz’s excellent Senate floor speech against President Obama’s catastrophic Iran deal, he urged Republican leadership – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) – to reject the claim that Congress must vote on the deal in the next few days. He is absolutely right. By the unambiguous terms of the Corker law, the period for congressional review of the Iran deal has never begun because Obama has failed to provide the entirety of it.

House Republican leaders are delaying a vote on the Iran nuclear deal scheduled for Wednesday because of a rebellion from rank-and-file conservatives. The House was to hold a procedural vote to begin 11 hours of debate on a resolution disapproving the deal at 1 p.m. Instead, they will gather at 4 p.m. to discuss strategy. "We will continue the conversation on Iran from this morning and discuss strategy for the rest of the week," a GOP leadership aide said. The House subsequently went into recess shortly after noon once leadership called off the procedural vote. GOP leaders had to change...

In my weekend column I offered a concrete plan to undermine President Obama’s atrocious Iran deal. It is an easy one, because all that the Republican-controlled Congress has to do, if it really wants to derail this thing, is follow the law that they wrote and Obama signed, the Corker law — the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, sometimes also known as “Corker-Cardin,” after Senate sponsors Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D., Md.). Sadly, in another iteration of the anger that is the wind beneath Donald Trump’s wings, many readers insist that GOP leadership has no...

As I traveled across the Volunteer State during August, I spoke with many Tennesseans about the nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States, and other world powers. While opinions of the agreement vary, there is perhaps no greater geopolitical issue facing the world today than preventing a nuclear-armed Iran. A strong agreement that would stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and stand the test of time was always the goal of these negotiations. That’s why when President Obama declared in 2012 that he would only accept a deal requiring Iran to “end their nuclear program,” there was hope that...

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said on Friday that he will oppose the Iran nuclear deal, making him the third Senate Democrat to come out against the agreement. "This is a close call, but after a lengthy review, I will vote to disapprove the deal," he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. "The JCPOA legitimizes Iran's nuclear program. After 10 to 15 years, it would leave Iran with the option to produce enough enriched fuel for a nuclear weapon in a short time." The opposition of Cardin — the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — is a setback...

House Speaker John Boehner vows to do 'everything possible' to stop President Obama's newly struck Iran nuclear deal, as Congress formally begins consideration of the hard-fought pact.

the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act that Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) negotiated with Obama guarantees that the Republican Congress will give its stamp of approval to Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran. Worse, it gives Democrats political cover by allowing them to vote against the Iran agreement without actually killing it – so they can say they opposed this disastrous deal without actually delivering an embarrassing defeat to their president. Instead of requiring that Congress vote to affirmatively approve the Obama-Iran agreement before it can take effect, Congressional Republicans agreed to move forward with a “resolution of disapproval” – which allows...

Senate Republicans concede they are not likely to have enough votes to overturn President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran unless they can swing a key Democratic voice against the accord. They’re setting their sights on Hillary Clinton, vowing to tie her to the deal in hopes of pressuring her to oppose it. GOP leaders need 67 votes to override Obama’s expected veto and keep sanctions on Iran in place. The administration has not yet announced an accord but lawmakers expect it to come soon. “It could be a good policy strategy. It’s not going to be hard to come up...

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told CNSNews.com on Thursday the United States should “definitely form a trade agreement” with Vietnam, which is an authoritarian state governed by a communist regime. […] On Thursday on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked Foreign Relations Chairman Corker: “The State Department says that Vietnam is ‘an authoritarian state’ that is ruled by the Communist Party. But it’s part of President Obama’s proposed trade partnership. Should America form a free trade zone with a communist regime?” Corker responded: “We definitely should form a trade agreement with Vietnam. I don’t know about all the other adjectives...

US President Barack Obama's administration is scrambling to quell concerns ahead of a Congressional review of the impending Iran nuclear deal that is approaching a June 30 deadline, but one US Senator reports Obama is refusing to reveal a document detailing the full scope of the deal. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he and other Senators are trying to obtain a document with the exact details of what the administration has already agreed to - but their requests are being refused. "There is a document that explains what Iran is...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday evening moved to end debate on bipartisan legislation that will allow Congress to review an Iran nuclear deal, after amendments proposed by some Republicans threatened to cost it Democratic support. McConnell’s action sets up a vote on Thursday to end debate. That would clear the way for a vote on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, a bill crafted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in such a way as to ensure maximum bipartisan support and fend off an earlier White House veto...

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Ted Cruz, but when he does something wrong, it's important to call him on it. In this case he, along with Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, voted for a bill that will effectively allow the President to lift sanctions on Iran. Normally, here's how treaties work: the President negotiates a treaty with another country, like the deal he is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear weapons development. Once the treaty is negotiated, it's submitted to the Senate. Two thirds of the Senate has to vote to approve, or ratify, the...

Cruz- “This bill was a missed opportunity. If Congress had acted to defend our constitutional authority – if Congress had adopted the Cruz-Toomey amendment – then we would be able to stop a bad Iran deal. Instead, the odds are now overwhelming that under these ground rules President Obama will negotiate, and Congress will acquiesce to, a terrible deal that allows Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and will endanger the lives of millions of Americans and our allies. “I voted no on cloture because we should have insisted on amendments to put real teeth in this bill. Ultimately, I voted...

Senators on Wednesday blocked a Republican push to tie Iran's support of terrorism to a final deal on the country's nuclear program. Senators voted 45-54 on the amendment from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), which would have required President Obama to certify as part of a diplomatic deal that Iran hasn't carried out or directly supported an act of terror against the United States or a U.S. citizen. Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and John McCain (Ariz.) voted with Democrats against the amendment....

Is there any strategy behind this apart from generating a nice pro-Israel credential for Rubio’s resume that he can show off to GOP primary voters this summer? What I mean is, is there any chance that this somehow improves — or kills — the final deal between the U.S. and Iran or at least puts Obama and the Democrats in a verrrry tough spot in defending it? Marco Rubio is refusing to back down from his fight to force Iran to recognize Israel, a stance that threatens to disrupt a delicately negotiated bipartisan bill that would allow Congress to...

Senate proponents of a bill empowering Congress to review and potentially reject any Iran nuclear deal must first win a battle with some colleagues determined to change the legislation in ways that could sink it. “Anybody who monkeys with this bill is going to run into a buzz saw,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned ahead of this week’s debate. Also trying to discourage any changes, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey urged senators to stick with the plan as it emerged from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. […] GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a presidential...

On Monday, Israeli officials reported that Iran has upped its delivery of weapons to the Lebanese Shiite terror group Hezbollah in the past few weeks. Channel 2 stated that the shipments have been made to both Lebanon and the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. In addition, the report stated that Iran was sending weapons to Hamas chiefs in Gaza and arming Hamas members in Judea and Samaria. Channel 2 asserted that the ease in sanctions on Iran from the present nuclear negotiations would allow it to spend “billions of dollars” shipping weapons to Israel’s enemies. The increase in Iranian...

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Corker (R-TN) leads a markup on a bill that would provide for Congress to review and approve any agreements relating to Iran’s nuclear program.

Traitor is strong language, but in the aftermath of Tuesday’s vote on a bill that was supposed to reaffirm the Senate’s constitutional power to consent to President Obama’s as yet still undefined and undisclosed nuclear treaty with Iran there is no other way to describe the actions of Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The bill Corker rammed through the Foreign Relations Committee is worse than no bill at all. What Corker’s bill does is, in its post-markup form, require the president to submit for congressional review the final nuclear agreement reached between Iran, the...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding six world powers and Iran to produce a single outline of the framework agreement reached over Tehran’s nuclear program. “While there appears to be consensus that some agreement was reached … there is no consensus on the actual parameters of that agreement — including such critical items as the scope of Iran's ongoing nuclear program, the extent of the [International Atomic Energy Agency] verification regime, and the schedule for nuclear-related sanctions relief by both the United States and the international community,” Cruz, a 2016 presidential contender, wrote Friday in a letter to Secretary of...