Democrats resist Trump’s push to add Iran to bipartisan Russia sanctions bill

Here's a bill that had 80-some cosponsors, that everybody agreed was ready to go, and now it's stuck because Democrats don't want Iran's name anywhere near it. Not because they think Iran sanctions are a bad idea in some abstract sense. Because Trump asked for it. That's the whole story here, stripped of the procedural dressing.

Think about what's actually being sanctioned. Iran's been funding Hezbollah, arming Houthi rebels who've been shooting at commercial ships in the Red Sea, and providing Russia with the drones that are hitting Ukrainian apartment buildings right now. If there was ever a moment for a unified American response, this is it. Instead, a bill that was cruising toward passage gets tangled up because adding Iran to it means giving the president something he wanted.

Democrats will say they support tough Iran policy in principle, just not this particular vehicle, not this particular timing. That's the tell, not the defense. When the substance of a sanctions package is fine but the politics of who benefits from it aren't, you're not legislating anymore. You're managing a brand.

Meanwhile Moscow and Tehran don't care who gets credit in Washington. They just notice when the Senate can't get its act together on something both parties claim to want. That's the actual cost of this stalling, and it's going to show up somewhere other than a floor vote count.