GOP May Block Commerce Secretary Nominee
Politico reports:
Senate Republicans accused the Obama administration of dragging its feet on free trade, vowing Monday to block President Barack Obama’s pick for commerce secretary until trade deals are completed with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) told reporters the Senate hold was a “perfectly reasonable way to incentivize” the president to move forward with the trade agreements.
Obama has previously shown strong support for the Korea agreement, but labor rights and tax issues have delayed the Latin America deals. All three were negotiated and finalized by the previous Bush administration.
“The president, to his credit, says he’s in favor of doing all three agreements,” McConnell said. “What we have been perplexed by is [Obama’s] lack of willingness to initiate the process.”
In a letter to Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Republicans blamed the administration for continuing to “move the goalpost by withholding clear direction and not providing a specific timetable for implementation” for the Colombia and Panama pacts.
“So important are these deals to our economy and our relations with these key allies in Latin America that, until the president submits both agreements to Congress for approval and commits to signing implementing legislation into law, we will use all the tools at our disposal to force action, including withholding support for any nominee for Commerce Secretary and any trade-related nominees,” the letter, signed by McConnell and 43 other GOP senators, states.
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