White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama administration doesn’t need Congress to approve the Iran nuclear deal — it just needs to not "screw it up."
“The fact is, we don’t need Congress to approve this deal,” Earnest told reporters Thursday. “We just need Congress not to screw it up.”
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The House and Senate are in the midst of a 60-day review of the deal reached last month between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.
“Congress has the opportunity to play spoiler and if they fail in that effort, this deal will move forward, it will be implemented, and we will have taken the most important step we can, the best step we can to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Earnest said.
Cory Fritz, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), cited the statement as evidence of a weak deal.
“If President Obama had a good deal that keeps our country safe, the White House wouldn’t be making these types of desperate pleas," Fritz told TheBlaze. "The administration needs to stop worrying about the ayatollah’s feelings, and start addressing the serious concerns of the American people and their representatives.”
This post was updated to included a comment from a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.
