President Barack Obama is headed to Capitol Hill Friday morning ahead of a crucial vote on his trade agenda in a last-minute effort to try to to sway Democratic House members to support it.
A Democratic aide tells NBC News the president will attend a Democratic Caucus meeting on the Hill at 9:30am.
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Democrats are split on the series of trade measures, which include a proposal that would give Obama what's known as "fast-track" authority to negotiate multinational trade deals without congressional amendments. Obama has argued that a Pacific Rim trade agreement would boost U.S. jobs; progressive Democrats and powerful labor unions say that such agreements only serve corporations at the expense of American workers.
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A vote scheduled for later Friday on a measure intended to protect workers affected by trade deals has been opposed by the agreement's foes, who see its defeat as the likeliest path to scuttling the overall trade agreement in Congress. Most Republicans oppose the measure, meaning that it would have to pass with almost exclusively Democratic support.
Obama's visit to Capitol Hill signals just how close Democrats expect that vote to be.
Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has said that, if that measure fails, the "fast-track" proposal will not be brought up for a vote on the House floor.
