Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, says U.S. President Barack Obama has enough votes from lawmakers to stop a Republican-led effort to block the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Republicans dominate both chambers of the U.S. Congress -- the House of Representatives and the Senate -- and appear to have the 50 percent majority needed to pass a resolution rejecting the nuclear deal.
But Obama has vowed to veto their resolution, and lawmakers would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override his presidential veto.
Pelosi said on August 19 that Obama has enough support to prevail, although she declined to disclose the vote count.
Sustaining a veto in the 435-member House would take 146 votes. Just over 50 Democrats have announced support for the nuclear deal so far.
In the Senate, where Obama needs support from 34 lawmakers, two more Democrats and an independent announced support for the deal on August 19 -- bringing Obama's total declared support to 26 votes.