(Bloomberg) -- At least a few of the U.S. Republicansenators feeling the backlash from signing an open letter toIran’s leaders are expressing some second thoughts.
Amid mounting criticism from allies, home-state editorialboards and colleagues who opted not to sign the missive, SenatorRon Johnson became the latest Republican to suggest he might dothings differently if given another chance.
While Johnson said he stood by the content of the letter,which warned Iran that any deal they get from President BarackObama might not outlast his term in office, he said it probablyshouldn’t have been directed to leaders of the Islamic Republic.
‘I suppose the only regret is who it’s addressed to,’’Johnson said at a Bloomberg breakfast in Washington. TheWisconsin Republican said it may have been a “tactical error”and that the letter could have been addressed to Obama’sadministration or the American people.
Arizona Senator John McCain, a prominent Republican voiceon foreign affairs and national security, has said that hasteand an impending snowstorm in Washington short-circuited moremeasured consideration of the letter.
“It was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody waslooking forward to getting out of town because of thesnowstorm,” McCain told Politico in an interview. “I think weprobably should have had more discussion about it, given theblowback that there is.”
Administration Pushback
The White House, which was facing pushback on the Irannuclear negotiations from some Democrats as well as Republicans,seized on the letter to argue that Republicans were makingforeign policy a partisan issue. Obama and his aides haveresponded with a mix of scolding and disdain.
The president told reporters at the White House on Mondaythat the lawmakers seemed to be “wanting to make common causewith the hardliners in Iran.” In a recorded interview with thewebsite Vice, an excerpt of which was released Friday, Obamasaid, “I’m embarrassed for them.”
European allies who also are party to the Iran negotiationshave condemned the letter as counterproductive.
“Suddenly, Iran can say to us: ‘Are your proposalsactually trustworthy if 47 senators say that no matter what thegovernment agrees to, we can subsequently take it off thetable?’ ” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saidThursday during remarks at the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies in Washington.
Not Politics
“This is no small matter we’re talking about,” Steinmeiersaid. “This is not just an issue of American domesticpolitics.”
The letter has shifted attention away from Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech earlier this month to ajoint meeting of Congress. His presence, at the invitation ofHouse Speaker John Boehner, and remarks had forced the WhiteHouse to defend the framework of a nuclear deal.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee,who didn’t sign the letter and is shepherding legislation thatwould require congressional approval for any nuclear deal withIran, said it wasn’t helpful to his efforts to round upDemocratic votes for the measure.
The letter was signed by 47 of the 54 Republican senators,including four who are considering bids for the party’s 2016presidential nomination.
One of the candidates, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, said onNBC’s “Today Show” on Wednesday that the letter was intendedto “strengthen the president’s hand” in negotiations.
Letter’s Content
No Republican has stepped back from the content of theletter, which warned Iran that any agreement they struck withObama to curb its nuclear program may be reversed by hissuccessor or changed by U.S. lawmakers. McCain told reporters hewas “glad” to have signed it.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said hedoesn’t have any second thoughts about sending the letter.
“At the end of the day, I want the ayatollah to understandthat our president doesn’t have the ability on his own to waivecongressional sanctions without our input and he is claiming hehas that right,” Graham said on Fox News. “This is aconstitutional crisis in the making. No Senate or House shouldever let any president do away with congressional sanctionscreated by the bodies without their approval.”
To contact the reporter on this story:Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.netBernard Kohn
Amid mounting criticism from allies, home-state editorialboards and colleagues who opted not to sign the missive, SenatorRon Johnson became the latest Republican to suggest he might dothings differently if given another chance.
While Johnson said he stood by the content of the letter,which warned Iran that any deal they get from President BarackObama might not outlast his term in office, he said it probablyshouldn’t have been directed to leaders of the Islamic Republic.
‘I suppose the only regret is who it’s addressed to,’’Johnson said at a Bloomberg breakfast in Washington. TheWisconsin Republican said it may have been a “tactical error”and that the letter could have been addressed to Obama’sadministration or the American people.
Arizona Senator John McCain, a prominent Republican voiceon foreign affairs and national security, has said that hasteand an impending snowstorm in Washington short-circuited moremeasured consideration of the letter.
“It was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody waslooking forward to getting out of town because of thesnowstorm,” McCain told Politico in an interview. “I think weprobably should have had more discussion about it, given theblowback that there is.”
Administration Pushback
The White House, which was facing pushback on the Irannuclear negotiations from some Democrats as well as Republicans,seized on the letter to argue that Republicans were makingforeign policy a partisan issue. Obama and his aides haveresponded with a mix of scolding and disdain.
The president told reporters at the White House on Mondaythat the lawmakers seemed to be “wanting to make common causewith the hardliners in Iran.” In a recorded interview with thewebsite Vice, an excerpt of which was released Friday, Obamasaid, “I’m embarrassed for them.”
European allies who also are party to the Iran negotiationshave condemned the letter as counterproductive.
“Suddenly, Iran can say to us: ‘Are your proposalsactually trustworthy if 47 senators say that no matter what thegovernment agrees to, we can subsequently take it off thetable?’ ” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saidThursday during remarks at the Center for Strategic andInternational Studies in Washington.
Not Politics
“This is no small matter we’re talking about,” Steinmeiersaid. “This is not just an issue of American domesticpolitics.”
The letter has shifted attention away from Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech earlier this month to ajoint meeting of Congress. His presence, at the invitation ofHouse Speaker John Boehner, and remarks had forced the WhiteHouse to defend the framework of a nuclear deal.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker of Tennessee,who didn’t sign the letter and is shepherding legislation thatwould require congressional approval for any nuclear deal withIran, said it wasn’t helpful to his efforts to round upDemocratic votes for the measure.
The letter was signed by 47 of the 54 Republican senators,including four who are considering bids for the party’s 2016presidential nomination.
One of the candidates, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, said onNBC’s “Today Show” on Wednesday that the letter was intendedto “strengthen the president’s hand” in negotiations.
Letter’s Content
No Republican has stepped back from the content of theletter, which warned Iran that any agreement they struck withObama to curb its nuclear program may be reversed by hissuccessor or changed by U.S. lawmakers. McCain told reporters hewas “glad” to have signed it.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said hedoesn’t have any second thoughts about sending the letter.
“At the end of the day, I want the ayatollah to understandthat our president doesn’t have the ability on his own to waivecongressional sanctions without our input and he is claiming hehas that right,” Graham said on Fox News. “This is aconstitutional crisis in the making. No Senate or House shouldever let any president do away with congressional sanctionscreated by the bodies without their approval.”
To contact the reporter on this story:Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.netBernard Kohn
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