US Republican Party (GOP) took the Senate Tuesday in a landslide victory, and while the shift may not spark a foreign policy overhaul, the now GOP-led Congress will pressure the White House over Iran, military cuts and terrorism, experts say.
The GOP win will spark a reshuffling of a number of Senate committees, with Republican Sen. Bob Corker widely expected to take the helm of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. At the same time, GOP Senator and 2008 White House contender John McCain will step up to head the Senate Arms Services Committee and pressure the White House over Iran’s nuclear program.
“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s main post-election priority probably will be to work closely with the Republican Congress to scuttle the evolving US-EU-German nuclear deal with Iran. Holding both houses of Congress, Republicans now have the ability to block the lifting of US sanctions required to consummate such a deal. Ironically, Iranian hard-liners also will be pleased because they too oppose this deal,” said Wayne White, former deputy director of the US State Department’s Middle East Intelligence Office.
McCain, known to be hawkish on foreign policy, on Wednesday told US media that he and Corker will re-examine the policy on Mideast terrorism. He has been vocal on what he has billed the administration’s weak response to the Islamic State (IS). “In the wake of the Republican electoral landslide, there will be greater pressure on the administration to take more robust measures against IS,” White said.
According to Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West, “McCain taking over at Armed Services will provide him with a platform to push for stronger actions on foreign policy and to hold hearings where administration officials have to testify about their actions. All of this will generate news attention and increase pressure on Obama to get tougher. This could affect US policy in regard to IS, Russia and other countries around the world.”
“Senate hawks can’t force the administration to do things it doesn’t want to do, but they can hold up confirmation of Obama’s nominees and attach riders to appropriations bills. That would make it more difficult for the administration to ignore their rhetoric,” he added.
Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said the Senate could delay or try to reverse some of the military cuts scheduled to take place. “Obviously this crew wants to pummel IS,” he said of the GOP Senate leaders’ stance toward the terrorists. “What you are going to hear out of McCain and to some extent Corker is making sure the military is doing what it needs to do to contain or push back IS,” he said.
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Courtesy: Xinhua
