Tuesday: Trade, ObamaCare board

by Jordain Carney - 06/23/15 9:54 AM ET

Fast-track trade legislation faces a procedural hurdle Tuesday in the Senate.

Senators are expected to convene at 10 a.m. for leader remarks and morning business, with a cloture vote on a motion to concur with the House-passed trade promotion authority (TPA) bill expected around 11 a.m.

{mosads}Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) needs 60 votes to overcome the procedural test, meaning he can only afford to lose a few votes from the backers of the trade legislation in May.

The Senate originally passed a trade bill in May, which included both TPA and a trade adjustment assistance (TAA) measure, but the Republican leader is now trying to pass the measures separately.

Complicating McConnell’s effort to lock-down votes, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) suggested in a Breitbart News op-ed that he could flip his vote from yes to no.

McConnell tried to persuade senators on Monday, saying they could get both TAA and TPA passed this week “if we can continue working together in a spirit of trust and if we simply vote the same way we did a couple of weeks ago.”

The Senate is also expected to recess for weekly party lunches on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the House is expected to take up a handful of noncontroversial bills, as well as a repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board created by under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.

House lawmakers will convene at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes in the House are expected around 6:30 p.m.

Tags Mitch McConnell Ted Cruz