GOP senator: Obama trying to push TPP through lame-duck Congress

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) on Friday accused President Obama of trying to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal through a lame-duck session at the end of the year.

{mosads}The TPP, a deal between 12 Pacific Rim countries, needs a majority in the House and Senate to pass. But in a vote after Election Day, some lawmakers who have lost their races will have a say in if it passes, which Sessions says is unfair. 

“Our fears are realized,” Sessions said Friday, according to The Washington Examiner.

“President Obama does not care what the good people of this nation want. He arrogantly thinks he knows best. If he could pass it with his ‘pen and phone,’ he surely would.”

Both presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump oppose the TPP. But Obama has said he hopes to get it through Congress before he leaves office.  

“President Obama knows that the only chance he has of passing the TPP is during this short window,” Sessions said.

“His determination flies in the face of the clear will of the American people, as demonstrated in the primaries.”