President Obama’s fast-track trade bill cleared a key procedural hurdle Tuesday in the Senate, all but ensuring it will win final passage this week and be sent to the White House for his signature.
Despite deep reservations from many in the president’s party, enough Democratic senators appear ready to join most Republicans to finish the legislation, which has sputtered in Congress but is a top White House priority.
A last-minute flip-flop from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who announced Tuesday morning he would now oppose the bill because it had become tangled in Washington "deal-making," did not upend the vote. Senators agreed 60-37 to advance the measure.
“With just a little more trust, a little more cooperation and simply voting consistently, we’ll get there,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier this week. “We shouldn’t let this opportunity for significant bipartisan achievement slip past us.” A final vote is likely for Wednesday.
The politics of the trade vote have divided both parties, but especially Democrats, who worry it will cost American jobs. Earlier this month, in a rare rebuke of Obama, House Democrats blocked a version of the fast-track package from advancing. But days later, House Republicans passed a new fast-track bill and sent it back to the Senate.
Even though Republicans mostly support the trade agenda, McConnell needed at least a dozen Democrats to reach the 60-vote hurdle needed to break a filibuster blocking the bill. Thirteen Democrats joined the GOP to advance the measure. Five Republicans bucked the leader and voted no.
Pressure on members of Congress has run high in recent days on both sides of the issue.
The AFL-CIO has been running ads against the trade vote warning lawmakers that American workers will suffer. That put organized labor in an odd alliance with the conservative Heritage Action for America, which told lawmakers that they should vote no because the broader trade package is tarnished by deal-making and government pork.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and leading business interests urged senators to pass the trade legislation.
Fast-track, or trade promotion authority, would allow the president to assure potential trade partners that the deals they negotiate with the U.S. will be presented to Congress for a yes-or-no vote without amendment.