Obama, GOP try to revive trade agenda

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and his legislative allies scrambled Monday for ways to revive his severely wounded trade agenda, although Democrats and Republicans alike said all options face serious hurdles.

Obama talked with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. And White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough spoke with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader whose rejection of Obama’s pleas capped Friday’s stunning setback delivered mainly by his own party.

But key lawmakers and aides said significant political and legislative challenges complicate the “many different options” cited Monday by House Majority Lead- er Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. He said he hopes a trade bill can be enacted by summer’s end.

The situation deeply frustrates Obama’s supporters on trade, because in some ways, success seems almost within reach.

The House on Friday narrowly approved the key component of the president’s trade agenda: granting him “fast track” authority to negotiate agreements that Congress can reject or ratify, but not change.

And there’s reason to believe the House would approve the legislative package’s other main element — renewal of an aid program for workers displaced by international trade — if it were decided on a stand-alone vote. Democrats overwhelmingly support it, and it costs so little that that numerous Republican consider it a reasonable price to get fast track.

But three legislative realities are thwarting any easy solution:

• The Senate combined the two elements into one bill, which it sent to the House after a bruising, lengthy battle.

• It turned out that House Democrats opposed fast track so strenuously, they were willing to sacrifice the displaced workers’ aid to scuttle the whole package.

• The administration and others are loath to start over and give the Senate another crack at dragging out, and possibly killing, the entire trade package.

The original strategy assumed a left-right combination would ratify the Senate-passed legis- lation. Nearly all House Democrats would support the worker aid program, joined by enough Republicans for a majority, the thinking went. Then, a big majority of House Republicans, and just enough Democrats, would approve the fast track portion.

But Democrats, urged on by unions and Pelosi, foiled the plan Friday by killing the aid program, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA. Even some colleagues called the tactic cynical, and Obama had specifically asked them not to do it.

All weekend, House Republicans gleefully distributed headlines about the Democrats’ rebuke of Obama.

The fact remains, however, that the failed fast track legislation was a top priority of Congress’ Republican leaders and crucial GOP allies, including the Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable.

Pro-trade lawmakers were weighing possible paths Monday. McCarthy said the best option was for Democrats to “come to their senses” and pass TAA, by reversing Friday’s outcome. Several Democrats called that highly unlikely, noting that 144 House Democrats opposed the measure Friday.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat who supports fast track and spoke with White House officials over the weekend, said, “I think it’s going to be a very heavy lift to try to change the outcome on TAA.”