A CHANCE TO DENY PRESIDENT CLINTON HER FIRST BIG VICTORY...:

The stakes are high: A defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, would deprive Mr. Obama of a major legislative accomplishment in the last weeks of his presidency and could harm U.S. ties with other countries in the bloc. The administration and GOP congressional leaders may choose not to seek a vote during the postelection lame duck period if it remains well shy of drawing majority support.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to maximize the chance of getting it done," said Mike Froman, the U.S. trade representative, in an interview.

Mr. Froman visited Nashville, Tenn., on Friday to talk up the TPP's intellectual-property provision with the record industry and to trumpet its proposed lower tariffs abroad with U.S. whiskey distillers. Mr. Froman, one of half a dozen top officials participating in TPP events last week, has spoken with nearly 100 House Republicans in the past few months, and cabinet-level officials have participated in more than 60 TPP events this year.

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