Obama, Bush and the economy

Amid continued signs of economic trouble, Barack Obama will travel to the White House today for what his aides have said will be substantive discussions with President Bush about the economy and other issues.

But on Sunday, there were new signs of obstacles to more federal action on the economy in the waning days of the Bush administration despite the rosy talk of bipartisanship that followed Obama’s historic election last week.

The president-elect’s newly appointed chief of staff rejected any deal with the White House that would link a controversial pending trade deal with a new stimulus package.

And it was unclear whether Obama supported a new bid from congressional Democrats to boost assistance to the ailing U.S. auto industry.

As evidence mounts that the U.S. economy is headed toward a recession, Obama has repeatedly called for a new aid package to be approved before he takes office.

Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have talked about bringing Congress back to Washington for a lame-duck session this month to vote on a package.

But the White House -- backed by many congressional Republicans -- has resisted a new round of federal stimulus spending.

Obama’s newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, indicated Sunday that the president-elect was not interested in a deal that would remove White House opposition to a new economic stimulus effort in exchange for congressional approval of a free-trade agreement with Colombia, a top Bush priority.

The trade agreement has long been opposed by unions and Democrats who charge that the Bogota government has not done enough to protect organized labor in Colombia from intimidation and violence.

“You don’t link those essential needs to some other trade deal,” Emanuel said on ABC’s “This Week.” “What you have to deal with is what’s immediate here, and the lame-duck [session] is for immediate things that are important. That’s what should be the focus right now.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated that he might not bring the Senate back to Capitol Hill unless there was a deal with Republican leaders on stimulus legislation.

“I am going to talk to my Republican counterparts and say, ‘Are you going to help me get this passed?’ ” Reid said on CNN’s “Late Edition.” “If they say no . . . the election is over, there is no reason for me on the floor to have a vote that I know I am going to lose.”

Until the new Congress convenes in January, Democrats hold only a one-vote majority in the Senate.

Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) are seeking more aid for U.S. automakers, and on Saturday urged the Treasury Department to direct part of the recently approved $700-billion emergency rescue program to auto companies.

But on Sunday, that proposal seemed to run into trouble too: Emanuel, under repeated questioning on two of the Sunday talk shows, would not endorse Reid’s and Pelosi’s calls for expanded assistance.

“They should look at accelerating the $25 billion that was offered for retooling for the industry,” he said on “This Week.”

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noam.levey@latimes.com