WASHINGTON — The House dramatically rescued President Barack Obama’s trade agenda Thursday, and supporters urged the Senate to finish the job and give him a signature achievement in his final years in office.
The turnabout gave a much-needed lift to a president recently rebuffed by his own party after years of fighting Republicans.
“This is a vote for a stronger economy and higher wages. This is a vote for our system of free enterprise. This is a vote for American leadership,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, on the floor before the vote.
In one of the strangest twists of his presidency, most fellow Democrats oppose Obama on trade, forcing him to rely heavily on Republicans to ease the path for possibly far-reaching trade accords in Asia and elsewhere.
The president needs comparatively small numbers of Democrats in both chambers. His supporters were encouraged by events Thursday.
The same 28 House Democrats who previously backed Obama’s bid for “fast track” negotiating authority held firm, despite withering criticism from unions and liberal groups. Under that authority, a president can negotiate liberalized trade deals that Congress can only approve or reject, not change.
Opponents of Obama’s path on trade are focusing on 14 Democratic senators, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who backed fast track earlier and will be needed again when the Senate revisits the issue this month.
Corporate groups and other free-trade supporters hailed the House vote Thursday approving the negotiating authority. It passed 218-208, proving the importance of the 28 Democratic supporters.
“This vote is a huge step with the administration and for a nation which rejects isolationism and protectionism,” said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association.
Liberal groups fumed.
“A handful of turncoat Democrats” who backed the legislation “should know that we will not lift a finger or raise a penny to protect you when you’re attacked in 2016,” said Jim Dean of Democracy for America. He said the group will try to oust those lawmakers in future Democratic primaries.
Lawmakers agree that major trade deals, including the long-negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership, cannot be completed unless negotiating partners know that Congress won’t tinker with the final agreement. Previous presidents have negotiated such deals with fast-track authority.
Democratic opposition to free trade has grown since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement lowered barriers with Canada and Mexico.
