The White House dismissed House Republicans’ latest effort to fight the Iran deal as the “Tortilla Coast Gambit” Thursday and crowed over the failure of the GOP to muster the votes to kill it.  

“It’s not a coincidence, that what we’ve taken to calling it the ‘Tortilla Coast Gambit,’ it’s something that emerged just hours after it became clear that this resolution of disapproval would not move through the United States Senate,” Earnest said. That’s a reference to the CQ Roll Call scoop  about the plan to ditch the resolution of disapproval that came after a meeting in the basement of the Tortilla Coast restaurant on Capitol Hill. From the White House’s perspective, victory is now total: Neither chamber of Congress will manage to pass a resolution of disapproval of the deal, Earnest noted, although Republicans may head to the courthouse to contend the administration failed to provide “side deals” to Congress.  

Boehner: Legal Action on Iran Deal ‘Very Possible’

That has more to do with infighting among Republicans over which way to message their opposition to the deal, but it won’t affect its implementation.  

“What we feel confident in, is that after September 17th, Congress’ opportunity to spoil this agreement will have expired, and we’ll be able to move forward with the international community to implement the agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Earnest said.  

Earnest said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., had acknowledged the Sept. 17 deadline.  

Corker yesterday didn’t exactly say that; he said the administration would move ahead with lifting the sanctions if Congress did not act by Sept. 17 regardless of the legal contention regarding the side deals. Corker urged Republicans to register their disapproval of the deal before then.

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