Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell kicked off an August recess Thursday by chiding President Obama for his partisan rhetoric around the nuclear deal with Iran, saying the issue will require sober debate when lawmakers return after Labor Day.
“We intend to handle the debate with dignity and respect,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters.
The GOP-led Congress will likely reject the deal with Tehran, so Mr. Obama is cobbling support from enough Democrats to sustain his veto.
Mr. Obama attacked Republican opponents of the deal in harsh terms Wednesday, comparing them to those who rushed into the Iraq conflict a decade ago and warning of war with Iran if Congress kills his diplomatic path.
Mr. McConnell called Mr. Obama’s arguments “absurd” and told him to tone it down, saying he’s applying campaign-like tactics to a solemn decision that will outlast his tenure in the White House.
“The rest of us will be dealing with the consequences of it,” Mr. McConnell said.
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Pivoting to his first seven months at the helm, Mr. McConnell boasted the Senate was able to notch a series of bipartisan wins, including a multi-year highway bill and overhauls of the Medicare payment system and No Child Left Behind education law.
“What are the American people saying when they give you a divided government?” Mr. McConnell said. “I think they’re saying, ’Why don’t you look for things you can agree on, and try to make progress for the country?’”
At the same time, he closed the door to immigration reform in this Congress, saying Mr. Obama poisoned any daylight for it by pursuing his amnesty policy after the GOP swept to power in the midterm elections. He also doubled down on using a fast-track tool to repeal as much of Obamacare as they can, without flouting budget rules.
He then accused Senate Democrats of trying to “ball up” the appropriations process after GOP lawmakers passed the first balanced budget in a decade.
Mr. McConnell brushed off threats from conservative lawmakers to refuse any spending deal that does not defund Planned Parenthood, saying there are other ways to push back against the group.
“I can tell you without fear of contradiction there will be no government shutdown,” he said.
Congress is facing the prospect of a short-term spending deal in September, after the White House and Democrats rejected a series of GOP-led appropriation bills that avoid so-called sequester caps on defense spending without a similar boost for domestic programs.
Mr. McConnell has vowed to avoid a repeat of the 2013 government shutdown that was largely blamed on a GOP-led push to defund Obamacare.
“There’s no education in the second kick of a mule,” he said Thursday. “We’ve been down this path before.”
Beyond spending, the Senate will grapple with a cybersecurity bill that leaders pulled from the floor Wednesday and negotiate with House leaders on the best way to fund a six-year highway bill.
Authority to keep road projects moving ends Oct. 29, and Congress runs up against the nation’s borrowing limit one day later.
In between it all, Congress will host Pope Francis on Sept. 24.
“We’ve gotten more requests for this appearance than anything that anybody can ever recall around here,” Mr. McConnell said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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