Obama
(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

The House, namely House Republicans, just gave Obama the chance to achieve a key second-term goal. On Thursday afternoon, the House voted 218-208 in favor of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). Now, Obama will have fast-track authority to finish negotiations with 11 Pacific Rim nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Although TPA technically passed last week, the House failed to pass a bill to renew an expiring aid program that was attached to TPA. Thursday's vote went through after the two bills were uncoupled. Surprisingly, Obama's biggest supporters in this effort were Republicans. According to Politico, 190 Republicans and 28 Democrats voted for the bill, whereas 50 Republicans and 158 Democrats voted against it. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us