debbie wasserman schultz

The White House has won the backing of Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for the Iran deal — avoiding what would have been an awkward split at the top of the party.  

The Florida congresswoman released a lengthy statement to the Miami Herald Sunday morning outlining her support, which she told a Jewish audience with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. last week would be made with "my Jewish heart"  after weeks of meetings with top administration officials including President Barack Obama as well as opponents of the deal. Wasserman Schultz's support won't affect the outcome in Congress; Obama already has more than enough votes in the Senate to successfully block an attempt to kill it. But if she had chosen another path, she could have expected a turbocharged effort to remove her from her DNC post from liberal interest groups and White House allies who had already targeted Sen. Charles E. Schumer  of New York, the heir apparent to succeed Harry Reid, D-Nev. It could have complicated her future ambitions to succeed Iran deal backer Nancy Pelosi of California as the House Democratic leader.  

Under siege on multiple fronts and with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. at her side, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz declared Thursday she's not afraid to stand alone on the Iran deal.  

The Florida Democrat faces calls for her resignation from her perch atop the DNC from party activists who worry the relatively skimpy debate schedule could be seen tilting the scales for front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton and for her potential apostasy when it comes to supporting President Barack Obama's Iran deal — what amounts to his signature foreign policy achievement and one backed by all of the Democrats running for president save for Jim Webb. Indeed, she can expect a torrent of calls for her to go if she defies the White House this time — even with the Iran deal already having the votes to sustain a presidential veto in the Senate. (A passel of ex-White House aides have already given such treatment to Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. ).