OBAMA’S TRUST DEFICIT ON TRADE: House Democrats are balking at fast-track approval of President Obama’s Pacific Rim trade deal.

Trade promotion authority (TPA), also known as fast-track, passed the Senate last month but faces a tougher road in the House.

Sponsored by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the bill would grant Congress an up-or-down vote on Obama’s trade deals, but deny lawmakers the power to amend or filibuster those agreements. The additional power is seen as necessary to Obama finalizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — a 12-nation behemoth that stands as a top priority in his second term. . . .

But the vast majority of House Democrats oppose the president’s trade agenda, naming a long list of concerns — from food safety to the environment, currency manipulation to labor rights and the loss of U.S. jobs.

They’re also accusing the administration of pushing trade agreements benefiting corporations and other well-heeled interests, while leaving working-class Americans out in the cold. . . .

Democratic support will be crucial to the TPA’s success, because GOP leaders are struggling to rally the votes to pass the measure on their own.

Yet Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday acknowledged in an interview on Fox News Radio’s “Kilmeade & Friends” that he doesn’t have the votes to pass fast-track.

As evidence of the trust deficit, all 6 House Democrats running for Senate seats in 2016 have come out against fast-tracking the deal.

I don’t blame them. Fast-tracking a trade deal of this magnitude–with no opportunity for amendments and limited debate–seems like a bad way to run the legislative railroad. There is a need for good and thoughtful trade deals, but I’m not a big fan of truncating the normal legislative process.