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Obama Makes New Plea to Dissenting House Democrats on Trade Bill

Bloomberg business news — (Bloomberg) -- White House spokesman Josh Earnest speaks at the White House briefing about today's defeat of President Barack Obama's trade agenda. In a 126-302 House vote Friday, Democrats helped reject a displaced workers’ aid program they usually support that was needed to proceed to a final vote on fast-track authority. (This report is an excerpt. Source: Bloomberg)

By

Carter Dougherty, Kathleen Miller and Erik Wasson

June 12, 2015, 8:48 PM UTCUpdated onJune 13, 2015, 5:39 PM UTC

President Barack Obama is scrambling to persuade almost 100 fellow Democrats to support a landmark trade bill, a centerpiece of his second-term agenda, that most of them sought to block.

In his weekly radio address, Obama called on Democrats in the House of Representatives to reconsider their votes, which on Friday stalled a sweeping agreement with Pacific Rim nations and came despite earlier appeals from the president.