White House Gives Up on TPP Vote

It is now official in what was largely accepted prior to the November 8 elections – the White House will not seek a vote on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement during the lame duck session of Congress.Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress told the White House they will not advance it in the election’s aftermath, and Obama administration officials acknowledged it has no way forward now.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said no to bringing the TPP to a vote in the lame duck session.In the House, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the committee that oversees trade, said in a statement that “this important agreement is not ready to be considered during the lame duck and will remain on hold until President Trump decides the path forward.”Matthew McAlvanah, a spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman, said Friday that despite all the work the administration has done with lawmakers on Capitol Hill “ultimately it is a legislative process, and the final step is for Congress to take.”White House officials preparing for President Obama’s trip to meet Pacific leaders in Peru appeared to acknowledge the defeat on Friday. “In terms of the TPP agreement itself, Leader McConnell has spoken to that, and it’s something that he’s going to work with the president-elect to figure out where they go in terms of trade agreements in the future,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs.