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| Republicans Have Minds Made Up as Debate Begins on Iran Nuclear Deal | Republicans Have Minds Made Up as Debate Begins on Iran Nuclear Deal |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, stared at Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday with thinly veiled disgust. | |
| “You have turned Iran from being a pariah to now, Congress being a pariah,” said Mr. Corker, who helped broker a delicate deal with Democrats and the White House allowing lawmakers to review the proposed lifting of sanctions against Iran. | “You have turned Iran from being a pariah to now, Congress being a pariah,” said Mr. Corker, who helped broker a delicate deal with Democrats and the White House allowing lawmakers to review the proposed lifting of sanctions against Iran. |
| While Mr. Corker, who promised a considered assessment of the agreement, may have seemed close to an endgame during a hearing on Capitol Hill, the vast majority of Republicans appear to have made up their minds before a single classified briefing, hearing or visit with administration officials. | While Mr. Corker, who promised a considered assessment of the agreement, may have seemed close to an endgame during a hearing on Capitol Hill, the vast majority of Republicans appear to have made up their minds before a single classified briefing, hearing or visit with administration officials. |
| Their view seems born of genuine distaste for the deal’s details, inherent distrust of President Obama, intense loyalty to Israel and an expansive view of the role that sanctions have played beyond preventing Iran’s nuclear abilities. | Their view seems born of genuine distaste for the deal’s details, inherent distrust of President Obama, intense loyalty to Israel and an expansive view of the role that sanctions have played beyond preventing Iran’s nuclear abilities. |
| The discord began the Sunday before a deal was announced this month, when some high-ranking Republicans, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, were booked on Sunday talk shows and denounced the accord ahead of its release. | The discord began the Sunday before a deal was announced this month, when some high-ranking Republicans, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, were booked on Sunday talk shows and denounced the accord ahead of its release. |
| Hours after the accord was revealed — but before classified sections were made available to Congress — Republican lawmakers raced to send out news releases criticizing it. | Hours after the accord was revealed — but before classified sections were made available to Congress — Republican lawmakers raced to send out news releases criticizing it. |
| “If these people who announced an hour after the deal was announced were in a jury pool,” said Senator Angus King, independent of Maine, who is undecided about the agreement, “they’d be disqualified.” | “If these people who announced an hour after the deal was announced were in a jury pool,” said Senator Angus King, independent of Maine, who is undecided about the agreement, “they’d be disqualified.” |
| On Wednesday, hours before Mr. Kerry briefed House members on the classified details of the nuclear accord, Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio vowed that Republicans would “do everything possible to stop” it. | |
| “I’ve voiced my concerns about these discussions for over a year,” Mr. Boehner added Thursday. | “I’ve voiced my concerns about these discussions for over a year,” Mr. Boehner added Thursday. |
| Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a candidate for president, rushed to give interviews after the Senate briefing to excoriate supporters of the accord as expressing “partisan loyalty to the White House.” He later conceded that he had not asked Mr. Kerry a single question about the deal. | |
| Certainly, the concerns Republicans have about the agreement are shared by scores of skeptical Democrats, many of whom have not agreed to support the accord. Many of those Democrats have been poring over the agreement, interviewing outside experts and facing hard questions from voters about the details. | Certainly, the concerns Republicans have about the agreement are shared by scores of skeptical Democrats, many of whom have not agreed to support the accord. Many of those Democrats have been poring over the agreement, interviewing outside experts and facing hard questions from voters about the details. |
| Notably, some important aspects of this agreement are not being made public because they are reflected in Iran’s confidential submissions to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a detail that has enraged Republicans particularly. There also are unanswered questions about how inspections would be conducted and how the overall agreement would be enforced. | Notably, some important aspects of this agreement are not being made public because they are reflected in Iran’s confidential submissions to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a detail that has enraged Republicans particularly. There also are unanswered questions about how inspections would be conducted and how the overall agreement would be enforced. |
| Many Republicans — and certainly some Democrats — have come to view the sanctions as reaching beyond a preventive tool against Iran’s nuclear program to one that would crush the nation’s regional ambitions. “One thing that bothers me is the billions of dollars that Iran is going to get” if sanctions are lifted, Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, told Mr. Kerry on Thursday. “Everything we are trying to do in the world has their fingerprints on it trying to do us in.” | Many Republicans — and certainly some Democrats — have come to view the sanctions as reaching beyond a preventive tool against Iran’s nuclear program to one that would crush the nation’s regional ambitions. “One thing that bothers me is the billions of dollars that Iran is going to get” if sanctions are lifted, Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, told Mr. Kerry on Thursday. “Everything we are trying to do in the world has their fingerprints on it trying to do us in.” |
| Republicans are under considerable pressure from their base of voters to deny any political victory to President Obama, particularly in the area of foreign policy. That is why the Iran deal was dead on arrival for many before any of them had examined it in detail. | Republicans are under considerable pressure from their base of voters to deny any political victory to President Obama, particularly in the area of foreign policy. That is why the Iran deal was dead on arrival for many before any of them had examined it in detail. |
| The pressure for Republicans to oppose it was elevated when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addressed a joint meeting of Congress in March warning against the deal, a speech that deeply angered the White House. On Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador reiterated that view, asking conservative Republicans to quash the deal. | The pressure for Republicans to oppose it was elevated when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addressed a joint meeting of Congress in March warning against the deal, a speech that deeply angered the White House. On Wednesday, the Israeli ambassador reiterated that view, asking conservative Republicans to quash the deal. |
| “For Republicans, this is a political win-win — most predict they don’t have the votes to override a presidential veto or a measure of disapproval, so they get to oppose the deal knowing that at the end of the day it will go through anyway,” said John Ullyot, a senior adviser at the High Lantern Group and a former top Republican foreign policy aide in the Senate. | “For Republicans, this is a political win-win — most predict they don’t have the votes to override a presidential veto or a measure of disapproval, so they get to oppose the deal knowing that at the end of the day it will go through anyway,” said John Ullyot, a senior adviser at the High Lantern Group and a former top Republican foreign policy aide in the Senate. |
| “This is similar to the recent Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, where Republicans were able to attack the decision without being in the position of having to propose a constructive alternative,” he said. | “This is similar to the recent Supreme Court decision on Obamacare, where Republicans were able to attack the decision without being in the position of having to propose a constructive alternative,” he said. |
| The administration took a defensive stance early, which may have stoked Republican animus. Richard G. Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana and a former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that “the fact that the president has threatened to veto any action by Congress to keep sanctions on” may have created tension. | The administration took a defensive stance early, which may have stoked Republican animus. Richard G. Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana and a former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that “the fact that the president has threatened to veto any action by Congress to keep sanctions on” may have created tension. |
| “The president started attempting to make as strong a case for the treaty as he could and to indicate the intensity of his own desire to get this thing done,” Mr. Lugar said. “And this may have led him or others advising him to say the vote is on the treaty and we cannot start going off on other aspects that undermine the treaty.” | |
| Still, Mr. Lugar said, “I believe that the hearings that have commenced now are very important for all sides of air their views and for a great deal of discovery to occur.” | Still, Mr. Lugar said, “I believe that the hearings that have commenced now are very important for all sides of air their views and for a great deal of discovery to occur.” |
| Mr. Lugar’s measured deportment could not be seen among most of the Senate Republicans on Thursday as they ripped into Mr. Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz and the Treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew. | Mr. Lugar’s measured deportment could not be seen among most of the Senate Republicans on Thursday as they ripped into Mr. Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest J. Moniz and the Treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew. |
| Many of the criticisms had a hit-and-run quality. | Many of the criticisms had a hit-and-run quality. |
| For example, Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and is running for president, derided the agreement before the members and departed promptly. | For example, Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee and is running for president, derided the agreement before the members and departed promptly. |