Senate

McConnell makes final fast-track push: ‘Today is a very big vote’

by Jordain Carney - 06/23/15 10:20 AM ET

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday morning made a final push for a fast-track trade bill ahead of a procedural test vote.

“I urge all of our colleagues to vote for cloture on this bipartisan trade bill today, that will open the way for final passage of [trade promotion authority] tomorrow,” he said. “Today is a very big vote. It’s an important moment for the country.”

The Republican leader’s push comes roughly an hour before senators are expected to take a cloture vote on a motion to concur with the House-passed trade promotion authority (TPA) bill.

He added that senators must “keep working together and trusting each other.”

His remarks come after Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said ahead of Tuesday’s votes that House lawmakers “remain committed to ensuring that both TPA and TAA are passed and enacted into law.”

McConnell said that both he and Boehner are “committed to building trust across the aisle.”

The Senate originally passed trade legislation in May that included both TPA and a separate trade adjustment assistance (TAA) measure, but McConnell is now trying to pass both measures separately.

McConnell faces a 60-vote threshold on Tuesday’s vote, meaning he can only afford to lose a few supporters from the Senate’s initial trade vote last month.

But, ahead of the vote, he’s facing opposition from within his own party, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) saying he will flip his vote from “yes” to “no.”

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Monday evening urged his Republican colleagues, most of whom backed the original trade vote, to block the TPA bill on Tuesday.

Tags Boehner Jeff Sessions John Boehner Mitch McConnell Ted Cruz