Amid talk House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., might hold off a vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace NAFTA, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is hoping for a vote before Congress' recess in August.
"The USMCA is so very important to us," Sen. Ernst told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "We must get it over the finish line.
"We want to make sure we're securing this deal. It's good for farmers. It's good for manufacturers. It's good all the way around."
The Democrat-controlled House is led by Speaker Pelosi, who is reportedly facing opposition in her party to vote on the USMCA trade deal. Sen. Ernst is confident the narrowly held Republican Senate would pass it if given the opportunity from the House.
With regard to resistant Democrats against the House vote, refusing to give President Donald Trump a legislative victory before the 2020 elections, Sen. Ernst said "shame on them for that."
"We want to give a win for the United States of America and that's exactly what this trade deal does," she added. "For the folks on the left, there are some great inclusions that have not been in a trade deal before – things like labor provisions, environmental provisions – those are really important to a number of folks beyond the fact that we will have very, very good trade with Mexico and Canada and strengthen our alliances there.
"It is a win for America, it just happens to be the president that has negotiated this deal."
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