New Questions Arise About House Democratic Caucus’s Loyalty To Obama
Cheers rang out Thursday evening when President Obama made a surprise visit to the annual congressional baseball game at National Park. Thousands of Democratic staffers began to chant: “O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma!” More unexpectedly, Republican lawmakers and staffers, who have been locked in battle with the president for more than six years, began a cheer of their own: “TPA, TPA!” they chanted, voicing approval for Obama’s trade promotion agenda.
Obama flashed the GOP side a thumbs up.
Inside the Democratic dugout, according to several senior aides and lawmakers, the president’s usual allies were appalled by the scene: He was waving to Republicans in approval of trade legislation that most of them opposed.
A day later, the Democratic team threw the president a curveball by blocking his high-stakes bid to win fast-track authority to complete a sweeping, multinational Pacific Rim free-trade accord. For Obama, who has staked enormous personal credibility and political capital on the effort, the loss on Friday represented a major setback on a key presidential priority and renewed questions in Washington about his relationship with the House Democratic caucus.
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