Week In Politics: Obama Needs To Convince Fellow Democrats On Trade

Published May 18, 2015 at 1:06 PM EDT

A demonstrator displays a placard to protest against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal at a sit-in demonstration in front of the parliament building in Tokyo on April 23, 2014(Toshifumi Mi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama’s top legislative priority right now is trade, specifically a Pacific Rim trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

He has a lot of support from Republicans, namely Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, but some Democrats are having a hard time seeing things his way.

NPR politics editor Domenico Montanaro gives Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson an update on where the debate over giving President Obama so-called “fast-track” trade authority stands in Congress.

Meanwhile, potential presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, staunchly opposed to the trade deal, challenged candidate Hillary Clinton over the weekend to come clean on her stance.

Also this week in politics, the Patriot Act expires on June 1, and reporters are wondering if Hillary Clinton will take their questions when she’s out in front of them in Iowa.

Guest

Domenico Montanaro, politics editor at NPR. He tweets @domenicoNPR.