WASHINGTON Democrats are locked in a constitutional death match with the Trump administration as the president shows no sign of respecting lawmakers oversight powers.

And yet you would not know that by the current state of negotiations over a new trade deal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Democrats are on a path to yes with the Trump administration on legislation to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement .

A new deal would give Democrats long-sought victories, but it would also hand President Donald Trump a massive win without any cooperation from the administration on the long list of ignored subpoenas or anything else, for that matter.

Democrats could demand cooperation from the administration on their Ukraine investigation if they want to play hardball. Or they could just require the president to disclose his income tax returns to assure the public he has nothing to gain from a new trade deal.

Instead, the trade negotiations have proceeded in a weird political vacuum, walled off from the chaos of the Trump presidency and the impeachment process. And thats partly because Democrats want to seem agreeable.

The trade bill is a demonstration of whether or not we can govern, and thats how were going to handle it, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and a trade working group, told HuffPost this week.