US News

Loss throws rest of president’s agenda into doubt

The White House insisted yesterday it wants to stick to a broad and diverse long-term agenda — but President Obama’s aides signaled that many tough-to-pass items are going to fall by the wayside for now in the new Capitol Hill climate.

The economy and financial regulatory reform are taking center stage now, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs suggested yesterday.

And measures like “card check,” the controversial union-backed provision allowing labor groups to form through card-signing instead of secret ballot, seemed to be on life support.

“Clearly, financial reform is going to take and play a bigger role in what happens legislatively in the next several months, ensuring that we have honest rules of the road going forward,” Gibbs said.

As for health care, he said it was a front-and-center issue before Scott Brown sent shock waves through national politics with his upset win in Massachusetts, and remains one.

Other Obama items that had been part of his sweeping agenda — and which now are in doubt — include cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing emissions of greenhouse gases, and new immigration laws.

Cap-and-trade — a version of which passed the House last year — has been controversial, with critics saying it’s essentially a new tax on consumers.