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.