House Republicans say they aren’t giving up on passing a critical trade passage blocked by Democrats on Friday, but say it’s up to President Obama to convince his own party’s lawmakers to reconsider their opposition and support the legislation.
“This is an opportunity for the Democratic Party to take stock and move forward in a constructive fashion on behalf of the American people,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said after moving to reconsider the defeated trade vote as early as Monday.
Democrats stopped President Obama’s trade agenda in its tracks on Friday by voting down part of a trade package that would provide the executive branch with expedited powers to secure international trade deals.
The defeat came even after President Obama made a rare visit to the Capitol in a last-minute appeal to Democrats. Despite Obama’s efforts, Democrats blocked the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, a bill their party would normally support in big numbers.
Democrats took the unusual vote against the TAA because it is linked legislatively to trade promotion authority, or TPA, which would give President Obama trade negotiating powers Democrats oppose.
The House passed TPA, but TPA will stay stuck in the House until TAA passes. Republicans now plan to try to hold another vote on TAA as early as Monday so that the full measure can be sent to the president.
But they can’t win the votes without Obama, Republican aides told the Washington Examiner.
They want President Obama to continue to shore up support this weekend with Democrats, who voted down the trade deal overwhelmingly on Friday. Only 40 out of 188 Democrats voted in favor of the TAA bill, while 86 Republicans were willing to support it.
“There is still time for them to get this right,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Friday. “And it is my hope that we can get this done as soon as possible.”
A House leadership aide said it’s unlikely that many more Republicans will decide to vote for the bill, which means its up to Obama to find nearly 100 more votes. He said the hope is that with the TPA part of the bill passed, Democrats could soften their opposition and find a way to support TAA, something Democrats have traditionally championed.
But Democrats late Friday did not appear ready to back down.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she wants the trade authority provision reopened to include changes that make the agreement, “a better deal for the American people,” according to a memo she sent to Democratic rank-and-file after the vote. Pelosi also signaled she would be willing to barter.
In exchange for a deal on the trade, the House could pass “a robust highway bill,” to provide funding for transportation projects, which has been stalled in Congress for months. Pelosi is also insisting a trade deal include tougher enforcement of environmental rules and labor rights with trade pact partners.
Republican options are limited if Democrats don’t bend. According to GOP aides, if the House cannot muster the Democratic support needed to pass the TAA measure, they could take up TPA as a separate bill. But that would require a new vote in the Senate, which already passed the two measures as a package and might be reluctant to approve one without the other.
President Obama on Friday issued a statement suggesting the fight is not over.
“I urge the House of Representatives to pass the TAA bill as soon as possible,” Obama said in a statement.
