House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday warned the Obama administration not to pressure Congress to vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year, and said a vote would lead to its defeat on the floor.
“You bring it up, it’s going to go down,” Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters at his weekly news conference. “I don’t think we should bring up a bill that is going to go down.”
The trade bill with 11 Pacific Rim nations is among President Obama’s top priorities, but it has garnered bipartisan criticism in both chambers. Many lawmakers want significant changes made to the deal because they believe the current agreement would hurt U.S. jobs and the economy.
Ryan said he won’t consider bringing up the bill during the so-called lame duck session that takes place after the election.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about because I know the votes on the issue pretty well … and we don’t have the votes,” Ryan said. “And quite frankly, they have to fix it and they haven’t done that.”
