BREAKING NEWS

US House of Representatives rejects resolution to approve Iran deal

WASHINGTON - A resolution to approve the Iran nuclear deal failed in the House of Representatives on Friday.
The measure, orchestrated by the House GOP caucus, was certain to fail given the Republican majority in the lower chamber. But the vote was intended to put all members of the House on record in favor or against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and is part of a larger GOP strategy to attack the landmark agreement on political and legal grounds.
The vote, with 162 members voting for the agreement and 269 voting against, was the only vote thus far successfully cast directly on the merits of the accord. On Thursday, the Senate held a procedural vote to end debate on a resolution of disapproval and move on to a final vote, which was rejected by Democrats.
That Senate vote will likely be determinative, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said on Friday morning.
US President Barack Obama, he said, "is going to win the short-term battle" in Congress. "But we've won the argument with the American people."