WASHINGTON — Bowing to pressure from Republicans and his own party, President Barack Obama on Tuesday relented to a compromise empowering Congress to reject his emerging nuclear pact with Iran.
The rare and reluctant agreement between the president and the Republican-led Congress came after the White House maintained for weeks that congressional interference could jeopardize sensitive negotiations with Tehran. But lawmakers refused to back down from their insistence that Congress have a formal role in what could be a historic deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the compromise bill shortly after White House spokesman Josh Earnest conveyed the president’s decision to sign it.
“Maybe they saw the handwriting on the wall,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said after the White House dropped its opposition.
Both houses of Congress are now likely to pass the bill, which cleared the committee 19-0. It’s expected to come before the full Senate as soon as next week.