The U.S. Senate “cleared legislation that will strengthen President Obama’s power to negotiate a Pacific trade deal, ending a weekslong struggle to lift the measure out of the political quicksand that repeatedly came close to trapping it in both chambers,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The legislation, passed 60-38, will give Mr. Obama ‘fast track’ authority that allows him to submit trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments. Negotiators have said that process is crucial to completing the 12-nation trade deal with countries around the Pacific Ocean, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
First Read calls it “a true man-bites-dog story: Obama and congressional GOP leaders working together — and sticking together, despite opposition from their bases.”
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