Ohio Gov. John Kasich will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House Friday as part of an effort to push the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Kasich, a Republican, has long supported free trade. He’ll join Obama, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former George W. Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and others for an Oval Office meeting on the 12-nation Pacific Rim deal.
He’ll later join Reed and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest for a press briefing, where he’s expected to make his case for the pact.
Kasich could be fighting an uphill battle: Both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump publicly oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Obama has pitched the deal, which includes Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, Peru and New Zealand, as a way to counter-balance China’s rising economic influence in the Asia-Pacific.
