The House of Representatives defeated a resolution on Friday backing the nuclear agreement with Iran in a symbolic vote engineered by congressional Republicans who object to the deal.
House members defeated the measure 269 to 162 in a strongly partisan vote, part of an effort by Republicans to underscore their objections to the international accord despite a vote on Thursday in the Senate that blocked a Republican-led effort to kill it by passing a resolution of disapproval.
“This deal is far worse than anything I could have imagined,” John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, said in a speech harshly critical of the July 14 agreement between the United States, five other world powers and Iran.
Twenty-five Democrats joined 244 Republicans in voting against the resolution. No Republicans voted in favor.
After a rebellion by some of the most conservative Republicans, party leaders abandoned plans for a House vote on a disapproval resolution, opting for votes on three measures to send a stronger message that a majority of Congress objects to the pact.
Members from each party accuse the other of using the dispute for political purposes.
