Overview
- A bipartisan group of senators led by Jeff Merkley and Ed Markey wrote Wednesday asking President Trump’s State and Energy secretaries to declassify and release the full 30-year agreement and two side letters so Congress and the public can review all commitments.
- House Democrats introduced a joint resolution of disapproval on Thursday to try to block the pact during the 90-session-day review period but the measure faces a likely presidential veto and the agreement will take effect automatically if Congress does not pass a disapproval resolution.
- The treaty text calls for construction of AP1000 reactors in Saudi Arabia and authorizes U.S.-Saudi studies of an enrichment facility that experts say could allow uranium enrichment up to about 20%, a threshold critics warn narrows the margin to weapons-grade material.
- Critics say the deal departs from the U.S. 'gold standard' by not explicitly banning domestic enrichment or reprocessing and by limiting International Atomic Energy Agency inspections to declared sites, while the administration says the pact meets legal nonproliferation requirements.
- The pact carries large commercial stakes for companies such as Westinghouse and broad regional consequences, so lawmakers and observers will be watching for declassification orders, floor votes after the midterms, and any congressional steps to add conditions to the agreement.