Charles Schumer
Image by Getty Images
Chuck Schumer was in a tough spot. The Iran nuclear deal was coming before Congress for approval, and the United States senator from New York had an unenviable decision before him.
On the one hand, Schumer was getting an earful from deep-pocketed Jewish donors and activists who opposed the deal. On the other hand, the leaders of his party expected his support.
For Schumer, 64, who is expected to succeed Nevada’s Harry Reid as head of the Senate Democrats after the 2016 elections, it was a tricky time to be upsetting either his wealthy constituents or his party allies. Still, it didn’t take the D.C. stalwart long to choose: He came out early against the Iran deal, with a lengthy statement on August 6.
“To me, the very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great,” Schumer said.
In the end, only three Senate Democrats joined Schumer in opposing the deal. Despite early worries from the bill’s supporters that he would lobby his Democratic colleagues hard to buck their party, Schumer seems to have seen his vote as a statement of principle.
“While I came to a different conclusion than many in my own caucus, I recognize for them that this is a vote of conscience, just as it is for me,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on September 10.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
