The growing fight over impeaching President Trump is threatening to scuttle any chance that Congress will pass his trade deal meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The Trump deal, known as United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), would hand the president and congressional Republicans a win after a months-long lobbying effort as they head toward the 2020 election.
{mosads}But Trump and GOP senators, who were already keeping a close eye on the calendar, are publicly fretting that it could fall victim to the high-stakes impeachment fight, which looks set to dominate the end of 2019.
“I’ve got a great deal of concern,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “I hope people can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) added that lawmakers are “going to have to learn how to multitask.”
“The House going down this path is really getting in the way of the legislative agenda. It’s certainly a complicating factor,” he said.
The USMCA curveball comes as administration officials, led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, have been holding closed-door negotiations with House Democrats for months as they try to get it through Congress.
House Democrats focused much of their weekly caucus meeting Wednesday on the topic of the evolving trade deal. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was hopeful the sides could reach a deal, but emphasized that enforcement mechanisms — a chief concern among labor unions — remain a sticking point.
He also rejected the notion that the impeachment inquiry means all cooperation between Democrats and the White House will cease.
“There is no reason to let the inquiry get in the way of what we’re doing in the Ways and Means Committee,” he said.
But even as Democrats and White House officials remain publicly optimistic about the chances of an agreement, Trump cut off Lighthizer on Wednesday while the two were speaking in New York to pour cold water on USMCA getting a vote amid the impeachment fight.
“It’s a fantastic deal for our country. And it’s possible they won’t vote. I mean, I know these people much better than you do,” Trump said as he interrupted Lighthizer.
He added that he didn’t know if Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) would “have time” to bring up USMCA while dealing with impeachment.
“I don’t know whether or not they’re going to have time to do any deals. I don’t think they can do any deals. … I don’t know that they’re ever going to get a vote because they’re all fighting,” Trump said.
Republicans have been trying to increase pressure on the House to take up the trade agreement and for the administration to send up the implementation legislation.
“Instead of bringing the USMCA bill to the floor, … Nancy Pelosi is wasting her Speakership trying to undo the results of the 2016 election by impeaching the president with no basis,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Wednesday during a press conference.
Lawmakers had initially hoped the administration would send the language to Capitol Hill in September, but that timeline slipped as negotiations dragged on. Once the implementation legislation is introduced, the House has to vote on it within 60 session days.
Republicans view it as critical that the NAFTA replacement gets ratified this year. Letting it drag into 2020, they worry, would mean it could fall victim to campaign politics, when both sides will turn their focus to winning the White House and control of Congress.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) warned Wednesday that “we’re running out of calendar days in 2019.”
He also cautioned Democrats against letting the impeachment battle impact the trade deal’s chances, adding that “it would only show that the Democrats are more interested in politics than they are policy.”