Obama Using Past Free Trade Support to Push for Lame-Duck TPP Vote in Congress

President Barack Obama is appealing to the histories of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., supporting free trade agreements in an effort to convince the leaders to bring up Trans-Pacific Partnership-implementation legislation for consideration during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during a press conference (here). “I think the case the President would make is, ‘Consider your previous position and your philosophy on these kinds of issues and recognize that, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, there’s not likely to be a President sitting in the Oval Office for the next four years that supports this,’” Earnest said. “So there is a now-or-never element to this.” Earnest said that the interests of Obama and large GOP interests “are aligned” in passing TPP. “We’re eager to work with them to get this deal across the finish line, as are a number of outside organizations who wield significant influence in American politics but don’t typically use that influence to advocate for President Obama’s agenda,” Earnest said.