DEVELOPING ...
President Obama's trade push hit a major roadblock Friday as Democrats helped torpedo a bill considered crucial for the agenda to pass.
In a 126-302 vote, the House killed the so-called Trade Adjustment Assistance bill -- a program that retrains workers displaced by trade. The bill was originally put on the table as a sweetener to help entice recalcitrant Democrats to back the president's overall agenda.
But the president's own party is so opposed to that agenda, they voted down the sweetener.
In a major defection for Obama, even House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined the rebellion in opposing TAA minutes before the vote. Though she supports the worker aid, she said it was the only way to "slow down the fast track."
She predicted the main trade bill would be "stuck in the station" without TAA.
Now, the president's entire trade plan indeed is up in the air, leaving Obama faced with a potentially humiliating defeat at the hands of his party.
Despite the setback, the House was moving ahead immediately with the marquee item -- a bill giving Obama so-called "fast track" authority to negotiate trade deals that Congress could approve or reject, but not amend. He hoped to use the authority, already agreed to by the Senate, to complete a sweeping pact with 11 other Pacific Rim nations which would constitute the economic centerpiece of his second term.
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