sew up enough votes to win.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and other trade supporters had a two-and-a-half hour dinner with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough in Germany. Connolly provided a list of Democrats he thought could be won over. McDonough said Obama would call those members, and the White House would have their back if anyone tried to distort the trade vote, Connolly recalled.

Meanwhile, House Republicans — led by Ryan, Boehner, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) and his chief deputy, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina — expanded their list of ‘yes’ votes rapidly from the mid 100s to 190, far more than they expected.

But this time, Republicans weren’t the story. Democratic disunity was.

Pelosi confounded her members and leadership team as she hadto serve two conflicting roles. As Democratic leader she was trying to improve a piece of legislation sought by the Democratic president. But as a trade-wary progressive congresswoman from San Francisco, she was inclined to vote against the very same bill.

When Democrats first turned against TAA, which they typically support, Pelosi spent days negotiating with Boehner over how to pay for the bill, heartening supporters. She won concessions from Republicans and defended her talks with Republicans to fellow Democratic leaders and the rank and file, leading many to believe she would vote yes. She even grew frustrated with colleagues, like her good friend DeLauro, when they doubted the merits of the deal.

But the frustration went the other direction, too. DeLauro was furious that Pelosi was even negotiating with