WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans said Monday that they have the GOP votes to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal as Democrats stepped up their support of the agreement the Obama administration and other world powers negotiated with Tehran.
Since Republicans hold a commanding 246 seats in the House, it was widely expected that the GOP would come up with 218 votes to support a resolution of disapproval, which has been introduced by Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill.
“Time is not the friend of this deal,” Roskam said in a statement. “The more time members spend evaluating this agreement, the more they realize it’s an historic mistake.”
It’s unclear, however, if there would be enough votes in the House to override President Barack Obama’s expected veto of the legislation. The president is counting on Democrats to sustain his veto, and House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi has said they will.
Obama would need 34 members of the Senate or 146 members of the House to stand with him.