The Senate has approved the USMCA, bringing Trump’s trade deal one step closer to reality

A bipartisan majority in the Senate approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on Thursday, clearing the way for President Donald Trump’s signature.

The Senate voted 89 to 10 for USMCA, an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

The House of Representatives backed the bill last year, voting 385 to 41, also with overwhelming bipartisan support, after Democratic leaders succeeded in winning changes on labor, environment, enforcement, and pharmaceutical provisions. Those tweaks secured the backing of US labor, offering Democrats a pathway to supporting the agreement.

That also removed the biggest obstacle to getting the USMCA passed, as a Republican majority in the Senate almost guaranteed approval. Still, many Democratic senators backed the bill, notably including progressive legislators Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who voted against the original NAFTA when he was a Congress member.

The approval of the USMCA in the Senate comes just as the chamber starts the impeachment trial of President Trump. The juxtaposition is wild, as the Senate is handing Trump a major victory on the same day it begins preparations to try him.