Nukes on the Mind; Iran's and Ried's

     Late this week Secretary of State John Kerry, along with the leading foreign officials of five other nations, announced the reaching of an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. This follows an aggressive push by many senators, Senator Menendez among them, to introduce new sanctions against Iran. There have been very mixed reaction in the Senate, many have criticized the deal stating that Iran has not given enough and that America has given too much (Killough). Others have been more accepting simply voicing the need for caution in any deal with Iran (Killough). Even in light of the new deal some senators intend to continue to pursue new sanctions on Iran. Senator Menendez has so far not made any significant statements on the issue of the Iran deal, but as both a major actor in the push for new sanctions and his position as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee his decision to accept the deal and whether to pursue new sanctions put him in a key position in the coming days.
     On the subject of nukes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved on his so called "nuclear option" this week. The nuclear option is a change in the Senates filibuster rules to allow a filibuster to be ended by a simple majority of 51 votes, down from the 60 votes previously (Isherwood). This came as a response to Republicans blocking two separate presidential nominees. Senator Menendez, along with 51 other Senators, voted in favor of the change in rules (Isherwood). Senators Menendez stated that the "unprecedented obstruction against this President by the other side has brought us here" and that the change in rules will allow the Senate to return to "the people's business" (Isherwood).

Sources
Killough, Ashley. Lawmakers from both parties urge caution on Iran deal. CNN.com. posted November 24th, 2013. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/24/lawmakers-from-both-parties-urge-caution-on-iran-deal/
Isherwood, Darryl. Booker, Menendez vote yes on historic "nuclear option." NJ.com. Posted November 21st, 2013. http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/11/booker_menendez_say_aye_in_historic_nuclear_option_vote.html