Obama trade bill rejected

Led by union-backed Democrats, the House delivers a stinging blow to the president’s trade agenda.

Led by union- backed Democrats, the House delivered a stinging blow to President Barack Obama on Friday and left his ambitious global trade agenda in serious doubt.

Republican leaders, who generally support Obama’s trade objec tives, signaled they might try to revive the package as early as next week. But that could require the shifting of at least 90 votes within either or both parties, a heavy lift.

Friday’s setback was deep and personal for Obama, who made a surprise, last-minute trip to the Capitol to ask House Democrats to back him.

Not only did they reject him by the dozens, but they were led by part y leader Nancy Pelosi, who has often expressed deep admiration for the president. She joined in a tactic that even some Democrats called devious and cynical: voting against a favorite job-retraining program to imperil the trade package’s main component: “fast track” negotiating authority for Obama.

Hours earlier, Obama had specififically asked Democrats not to do that. But in a crowded House chamber, Pelosi urged her colleagues to ignore him.

“Slow down the fast track to get a better deal for the American people,” she said, drawing praise from labor unions, liberals and others who say freetrade deals send U.S. jobs abroad. Pelosi added possible new burdens to the legislative package, saying new highway funding and “environmental justice” should be linked to its passage if it’s revived.

In a statement, Obama said the job retraining program “would give roughly 100,000 American workers access to vital support each year,” and he urged the House to pass it as soon as possible and send the entire trade package for him to sign.

Other presidents have had fast- track authority, which gives them negotiating clout by letting them propose trade agreements that Congress can ratify or reject but not amend. The administration currently is trying to conclude negotiations with 11 Pacifific-rim countries including Japan and Canada.

One possible route for pro-trade forces in Con- gress would be to send the revised legislation back to the Senate. But senators approved the larger package only narrowly last month after intense battles, and the White House desperately wants to avoid giving opponents there another chance to strangle the legislation.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday’s vote showed congressional support for fast track , and “our work is not done yet.” As for Democrats rejecting the retraining program, he said, the administration will contend “they have registered their objections to (fast track) and it didn’t work.” Earnest said the administration will urge Democrats to “support a policy that they have strongly supported in the past.”

Friday’s crucial vote came when 144 House Democrats joined 158 Republicans to reject extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA. The program, which helps workers who lose their jobs to international trade, has long been a priority for Democrats and unions.

But the Senate had tied it to the broader fast track negotiating authority for the president, which House Democrats overwhelmingly oppose.