The White House reacted to news that President Obama can’t rely on Republicans to pass trade promotion authority by chiding Republicans for turning to him to pass one of their agenda items.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest pointed out what he called the “irony” of Republicans, who worked hard to win back the Senate majority, asking the president for help in “getting their work done.”
Obama is meeting with a group of centrist New Democrats today at the White House to help garner their support for the fast-track trade authority.
“[He’s] going to do his part to make a very aggressive case,” Earnest told reporters Thursday at his daily press briefing. He will stress that the “agreement that he’s trying to broker is clearly in the best interests of the United States and our workers.”
But he noted that the White House is “under no illusions about changing every single mind on Capitol Hill in both parties.”
He also pointed out that the only vote to give Obama trade promotion authority has taken place in the Senate Finance Committee and that more Democrats voted for it than against.
He acknowledged that that dynamic would likely not be mirrored by a floor vote in either house of Congress, but he said it shows that the members who have studied the issue the most, support it.
“I think it’s an indication that Democrats who do spend a lot of time looking at this issue and thinking about it — that there are plenty of reasons for them to support it,” he said.
