Before they were allies, they were campaign-trail foes.
Yet, since taking the gavel of the influential Ways and Means Committee, Chairman Paul Ryan has emerged as President Obama's most convincing messenger on Capitol Hill on behalf of a free-trade agreement that would be a big boost to the president's legislative legacy.
The House could vote on Trade Promotion Authority, also known as "fast track," as early as this week. The legislation would limit Congress to an up-or-down vote on future trade deals negotiated by the president. If it passes, it will be a kind of graduation moment for Ryan, the first major legislative accomplishment since he left the Budget Committee. Unlike his visionary budget documents that made him a sensation in conservative circles, however, trade puts Ryan on the same side as a president conservatives distrust and tests the relationships he has carefully built with those in the far right of his party.
National Journal...
