A steady trickle of Democrats has come out in favor of the deal in recent days, giving the White House almost enough votes to allow President Barack Obama to veto a resolution critical of the diplomatic agreement.

Some Democratic Senate aides believe there could be enough support in the party to filibuster the resolution against the deal, which would mean the president would not need to actually wield a veto in order to secure his second term foreign policy priority.

Patti Murray, the Washington Democrat who is the party’s fourth-ranking senator, became on Tuesday the latest senior figure to endorse the deal.

“I am convinced that moving forward with this deal is the best chance we have at a strong diplomatic solution,” she said in a statement. “It puts us in a stronger position no matter what Iran chooses to do, and it keeps all of our options on the table if Iran doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain.”

Her decision follows the announcement on Sunday that minority leader Harry Reid would vote in favor of the deal. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure the deal stands,” the leading Democrat in the Senate said in a telephone interview with the Washington Post. “This is the best way, the only way, to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” Debbie Stabenow, a Democratic senator from Michigan, came out in support on Monday.

So far only two Senate Democrats have said they would oppose the deal: Charles Schumer, the New York senator who is expected to take over as minority leader next year, and Robert Menendez from New Jersey.

Congress has until mid-September to review the Iran agreement, which was reached last month, and to potentially vote on a resolution blocking the deal. To override a veto from the president, 67 senators and 290 members of the House of Representatives would need to vote against the agreement.

Needing only 34 votes in the Senate to sustain a veto and maintain the agreement, the White House now has 29 senators supporting the agreement and another four who are leaning towards supporting, according to the Washington Post, with eight other Democrats still undecided.

Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, told the Associated Press last week that she believed there was enough support for the deal in the House to uphold a presidential veto.

If opponents of the deal in the Senate cannot secure 60 votes against the agreement, Democratic leaders would be able to filibuster the resolution, which would prevent the Senate from having a formal vote on the nuclear deal.

(Source: Financial Times)