“I am confident we’re gonna get to 60,” McCain said during an interview on Monday.
McCain, who is the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, said the more difficult obstacle is to get the 67 votes needed to override a presidential veto.
“The key will be the override of the presidential veto. That’s where we gotta get 13 Democrats,” he said.
The Arizona Republican said some of his constituents in his home state have already approached him to express opposition to the agreement. “That issue has penetrated, and my constituents are not really happy about it,” he said.
Most Republicans oppose the nuclear agreement with Iran, but they need a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress to override a possible presidential veto, and to reach that threshold, Republicans need Democratic support.
Obama has already threatened to veto any legislation to block the Iran agreement.
The US president has launched an aggressive campaign of private entreaties and public advocacy to rally enough Democratic support to preserve the nuclear accord ahead of a September vote on it in the Republican-led Congress.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the most potent pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, is spending about $40 million to run TV advertisements in 35 states urging legislators to vote down the agreement. It is leaning hard on Democrats as most Republicans are already against the deal.
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