Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) refuted a recent Huffington Post story alleging that infighting within the Republican Party could derail a sweeping trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
“I think they’re dead wrong,” Rep. Brady said on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Wednesday. “We’re going to have very strong support among House and Senate Republicans for this.”
He claimed that it’s up to the president to show leadership and get Democrats on board.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday that they can expect the President to continue to make the case that the TPP is “in the best interests of the economy.”
Approving the TPP first requires Congress to renew “fast-track authority”–a procedure that prohibits the legislative branch from amending trade deals. .
Brady said that he’s happy to cede authority to President Obama on the matter.
“We think every president ought to have the ability to negotiate these trade agreements,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’ll have the straight up or down vote.”
Currently the deal is being negotiated in secret between the Obama administration and foreign counterparts, with corporate interests heavily influencing proceedings. Some of the few known details about talks have been published by WikiLeaks.
Rep. Brady argued that giving the executive branch the authority to negotiate a deal that can’t be changed by lawmakers is an example of Congress “flexing its muscles.”
Speaking in front of the Business Roundtable on Wednesday, President Obama said that the TPP is “moving forward” and suggested it could be finalized “sometime soon.”
