Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a minor boost in his polling for the upcoming election, but to the extent that his speech to the US Congress was an effort to kill US diplomacy with Iran, it appears to have failed, and support for the bill is drying up.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) intends to fast-track the bill, which aims to give Congress veto power over any nuclear deal reached with Iran.
That’s what Netanyahu was hoping would happen, but a number of Senate Democrats, including co-sponsors of the bill, are now opposing it, meaning the vote is likely to be mostly a party-line vote.
Obama has already promised to veto the bill, along with any other bill that aims to derail negotiations with Iran, and without heavy support from the Democrats it seems virtually impossible they’ll be able to override the veto.
Hawks were betting Netanyahu, and the influence Israel usually commands in Congress, would be enough to swing the vote that way. The political rancor surrounding Netanyahu’s visit may have caused it to backfire, however.
