--- title: Obama Takes the Case for Trade Deal to Capitol Hill description: President Obama will meet with House Democrats on Capitol Hill Friday as part of a last-minute push for support on a trade deal. canonical: https://time.com/3918871/barack-obama-trade-capitol-hill/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-12T13:27:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T06:56:33.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Takes the Case for Trade Deal to Capitol Hill og:description: An unusual in-person visit from the commander-in-chief. og:url: https://time.com/3918871/barack-obama-trade-capitol-hill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb22c6c819ab006f4/6988543255a8595f9aa8c789/barack-obama-congressional-baseball.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama waves at the crowd during the 2015 Congressional Baseball Game at the National Parks Stadium, on June 11, 2015 in Washington D.C. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Takes the Case for Trade Deal to Capitol Hill twitter:description: An unusual in-person visit from the commander-in-chief. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb22c6c819ab006f4/6988543255a8595f9aa8c789/barack-obama-congressional-baseball.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Takes the Case for Trade Deal to Capitol Hill > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:56 AM UTCPublished: Jun 12, 2015 1:27 PM UTC  President Barack Obama waves at the crowd during the 2015 Congressional Baseball Game at the National Parks Stadium, on June 11, 2015 in Washington D.C. President Barack Obama waves at the crowd during the 2015 Congressional Baseball Game at the National Parks Stadium, on June 11, 2015 in Washington D.C. Pool—Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:56 AM UTCPublished: Jun 12, 2015 1:27 PM UTC President Obama met with House Democrats behind closed doors on Capitol Hill Friday as part of a last-minute push for support on a major trade deal. The House is scheduled to vote on a measure that would strengthen Obama’s authority to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the biggest free trade deal of all time and a major second-term priority for the Administration. The bill has already passed the Senate, which means the House votes Friday are the final hurdle for Obama. Republicans in both chambers are generally supportive of the trade deal, setting up an unusual alliance with Obama in his second term. **Read More:**[_Obama Moves Closer to Inking Pacific Trade Deal_](http://time.com/3853641/trans-pacific-partnership-senate/) But some House Democrats are threatening to vote against the bill, causing a last-minute headache for the White House and setting up a rare nail-biter of a vote in which neither side knows what will happen. During Friday’s meeting, Obama told Democrats to “play it straight” on the pending trade votes. For nearly an hour, he argued that Democrats should stick to their guns on the fast-track bill and not let last-ditch opposition by some progressives derail it. Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who was in the room, said there was a feeling that Obama had waited until the last minute to try to sway votes. “I wish there would have been much better outreach by them,” he said. Afterward, Obama wouldn’t tell press waiting outside the meeting room whether or not Friday’s trade votes were set. “I don’t think you ever nail anything down around here,” he said. “It’s always moving.” As part of his intense lobbying effort, Obama made a surprise visit to the Congressional Baseball Game Thursday evening, ironically arriving as the game was at a tense 2-2 standoff. As he walked across the grounds at Nationals Park, the Democratic side of the stadium chanted “four more years,” while the Republican side chanted “TPA! TPA!”—a reference to the Trade Promotion Authority the bill would give Obama. _With Aisha Bhoori and Maya Rhodan/Capitol Hill_ ### See the Early Days of Congressional Baseball  Washington Stadium hosts a baseball game between Republicans & Democrats, circa the 1900s. Buyenlarge/Getty Images  Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, with his second wife Edith Galt at the Congressional baseball game in Sept. 1918. Library of Congress/Getty Images  Bill Stinson, right, Washington seventh district congressman, wore a Rainiers uniform as he got some batting tips from Gil Hodges, Senators manager, in preparation for the annual Congressional baseball game on July 30, 1963 in Washington. Seattle Times/JR Partners/Getty Images  The mascots for the Republicans, an elephant, and the Democrats, a donkey, have a "fight" during the Congressional Baseball Game of 1964 in Washington. Mickey Senko—Congressional Quarterly/AP  Silvio O. Conte, R-Mass., with a cigar clamped in his teeth and his recently discarded crutches below him, lines up to take a Democrat team pitch at the 1966 Congressional Baseball game in Washington. Mickey Senko—Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images  Democrat Cheerleaders pose for photos before the Congressional Baseball Game of 1966 in Washington. Mickey Senko—Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images  Silvio O. Conte, R-Mass., lights a victory cigar after Republicans won the 1975 Congressional Baseball game. Pen Wilson—Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images  Democratic Team Manager Bill Chappell and Mendel Davis hold the Roll Call trophy after winning the Congressional Baseball Game of 1975. 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