The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would allow Congress to review and potentially reject President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

After months of lobbying against the bill, the administration acknowledged it couldn’t stop it and White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama would not veto the committee-passed version. The administration’s about-face came after it was clear that a veto-proof majority, including many Democrats, will support the legislation unless hard-line amendments are added by Republicans on the Senate floor.

Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) was able to hold off GOP amendments in committee that would have disrupted the fragile congressional agreement, while Ben Cardin (D-Md.) persuaded Corker to make significant changes to the measure to bring on board a number of liberal Democrats. At its heart, the bill allows Congress to reject the lifting of legislative sanctions if lawmakers disapprove of any final deal the United States makes with Iran.

“Let’s send a message to Tehran that sanctions relief is not a given and certainly not a prize for signing on the bottom line,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

Source: Burgess Everett, www.politico.com