Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress, having nearly exhausted legislative options for stopping the Iran nuclear deal, say they now may take their case to the courts.
A lawsuit "is an option that's very possible," House Speaker John Boehner said September 11 after Democrats successfully blocked the Senate from voting on the deal.
Republicans argue that the White House violated the law by not sending all the details of "secret side deals" attached to the nuclear agreement to Congress for review -- thus it has not as yet triggered the law's 60-day review period.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest dismissed the latest Republican plan as "desperation," however, and suggested the GOP would lose the battle in court as well. "We obviously feel quite confident in our ability to move forward with the rest of the international community" in implementing the deal, he said.
It wouldn't be the first time Republicans have sought to stop the White House in the courts. They have sued repeatedly over President Barack Obama's signature health care law, with some success at hamstringing implementation, and they are also challenging the president's climate change regulations in court.