BREAKING: Major test vote for Obama’s trade package fails by huge margin

By Dan Calabrese, CFP

If President Obama, in pursuit of a trade agenda that has his own party in rebellion, thought he could pull reluctant Democrats to his side with a “sweetener” to retrain workers who might be displaced as a result of the deal – um, no. Today a test vote on that provision produced an absolute fiasco for Obama and his allies on the issue:

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.

Be careful not to confuse this with the primary bill concerning fast-track authority for trade agreements. That one is yet to come, and the House is expected to move it forward fairly quickly. The Trade Adjustment Assistance bill was always going to be a hard sell with Republicans, but Obama hoped it might persuade Democrats who hate free trade to nevertheless get on board because it would promise assistance to workers. No such luck. I think he underestimated the power of protectionism among Democrats and their union overlords.