GOP senators urge Trump to move on trade deal before Dems control the House

A handful of Republican senators are urging President Trump to move quickly on the proposed trade deal with Canada and Mexico and to get it done before Democrats take over the House of Representatives in January.

A letter spearheaded by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., sent to the White House on Tuesday calls on the president to submit a final copy of the agreement to the Senate by the end of the month so the deal can be fast-tracked under Trade Promotion Authority.

“We are concerned that if the Administration waits until next year to send Congress a draft implementing bill, passage of the USCMA as negotiated will become significantly more difficult,” the letter reads, before explaining the process necessary to get the deal in place before the next Congress is sworn in.

Most urgently, the president would have to submit the final legal test of the agreement and a statement of administrative action by November 30. That would start the clock on the mandatory waiting period before Congress can vote on it.

“If you choose to pursue consideration of the USMCA before the end of the 115th Congress, we commit to working with you in a consultative manner to draft implementing legislation that could win our votes, as well as a majority in the House and Senate,” the letter concludes.

The letter’s signatories are a wide spectrum of Republicans including Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., James Lankford, R-Okla., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Mike Lee, R-Utah., and Ron Johnson, R-Wisc.

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