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.
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