Senate moves forward on confirming US trade rep

Lighthizer is a lawyer who has represented the manufacturing and agriculture sectors in his private practice and served as deputy U.S. trade representative under President Ronald Reagan. Lighthizer has been a defender of Trump’s skeptical approach to international trade deals.

“I agree with President Trump that we should have an America first trade policy and that we can do better in negotiating our trade agreements and stronger in enforcing our trade laws,” he said at his Senate confirmation hearing in March.

Lighthizer expressed blunt sentiments in a 2011 column for the Washington Times. “Mr. Trump’s GOP opponents accuse him of wanting to get tough on China and of being a protectionist. Since when does that mean one is not a conservative?”

The pick was praised by some Democrats, noting that in private practice Lighthizer had worked to help domestic industries. “Mr. Lighthizer has an understanding about the impact of unfair trade on America’s manufacturers and workers that could be a valuable asset for our country,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, R-Ore.

Some Republicans feared Lighthizer was too skeptical of the benefits of free trade.

Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Ben Sasse of Nebraska announced in a letter to Lighthizer Wednesday that they would vote against him. “America deserves a USTR who will renegotiate NAFTA in order to build on its successes, not as a pretext for unraveling it,” they wrote, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The confirmation vote was delayed by Senate Democrats who said Lighthizer needed a special waiver from Congress because he had represented foreign clients. Congress included the waiver in its recent spending bill funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., invoked cloture on Lighthizer’s nomination early this week, setting up Thursday’s vote on advancing to a full confirmation vote.