White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was none too pleased that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership announced they would change House rules to avoid a required vote this year on a hotly disputed free-trade agreement with Colombia.
Here's Perino at her daily press briefing:
Trade Promotion Authority also has requirements for Congress, and that is that at the end of a 90-day period, 90-day -- legislative days -- that there be a vote. It is clear that there are many in the Democratic Party who would like to kill this deal, and they want to do so without having to have their fingerprints on it, and they want to do it in a way where they don't have to take a vote. And we think that it is extremely unfortunate, and you can bet that President Bush is going to bring this up at 3:00 p.m. when he sees the leaders.
Perino further hinted at some behind the scenes fireworks between Bush and the Democrats:
We have bent over backwards to make this happen. I think that it will be interesting to see how the President deals with that today
After Perino complained about Democrats "changing the rules" in the middle of the game, a reporter asked if the White House was feeling a little peeved:
Q You sound a little angry. Is the White House angry?
MS. PERINO: I think we're pretty fired up about it. Look, it is the right thing to do. The free trade agreement with Colombia is the right thing to do, and they know it. And that's why they don't want to have to take a vote on it, because their special interests are pressuring them not to let this deal go through.
Q Dana, can I follow?
Q What are the special interests?
MS. PERINO: The unions.
Q Pardon?
MS. PERINO: The unions.
Read more coverage of the White House meeting here.
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