President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would send the Iran deal to Congress for review, opening the agreement to a new round of scrutiny as Republicans on Capitol Hill push for more information about what the U.S. and Iran have negotiated.
Trump voiced his openness at the start of a meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French Alps. Asked about the idea, Trump said, “I like the idea” and added, “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”
The move would put lawmakers directly into the process at a moment when the administration is trying to show the deal can be defended on security grounds. For Trump, sending it to Congress would also shift part of the political burden onto Capitol Hill, where Republicans are already asking for more details before they decide how to respond.
That skepticism is not abstract. Some Republicans are saying the deal may not be strong enough to stop Iran from trying to build a nuclear weapon, a concern that has shadowed the agreement from the start. Their demands for more information suggest the White House will face pressure not just to disclose terms, but to explain how the deal is supposed to work in practice.
What Trump did not say may matter as much as what he did. He did not specify what information he would provide Congress or when the agreement would be sent, leaving the next step open even after he signaled he was prepared to move ahead. For now, the deal is headed into a more political phase, and Congress is where the fight over it is likely to land.
