House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have struck a deal which could allow for a final vote on the trade bill which has pitted many Democrats against their own president.
Pelosi and Boehner are hashing out final details, about how to pay to retrain workers who lose their jobs in the process, but congressional aides on both sides of the aisle expect a final vote Friday.
President Barack Obama is seeking so-called fast track power (trade promotion authority) from Congress to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, a sweeping trade measure in the mold of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiated two decades ago.
The issue has allied typical Democratic constituencies, including labor unions, with conservatives who worry about giving Obama too much power.
The proposal will be presented to both Republican and Democratic members Wednesday morning, and the House Rules Committee plans to meet a few hours later on the bill to set procedure for both the fast-track status for the trade bill and others.
Republican aides believe the vote will be close and expect they will need more than the 17 or 18 House Democrats who are ready to support the measure.