Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) upped the ante against President Bush Wednesday by holding the Colombia trade deal hostage to gain leverage on a second economic stimulus package.

Pelosi is taking the unprecedented step of changing House rules to block the Colombia free trade agreement. By doing so, she will spare Democratic lawmakers a difficult vote while setting up a bitter fight with Bush.

After meeting with Bush and other congressional leaders Wednesday afternoon, Pelosi said, “We have come together on many bipartisan agreements on how to inject demand and vitality into our economy, and we would hope some of those initiatives would be acceptable to the president, funded and signed into law. Then, and only then, can we consider the merit of a Colombia free trade agreement.”

The surprising move came a day after Bush set his own precedent by trying to force Congress to vote on the trade pact despite a warning from Pelosi that it would not pass.

An aide to Pelosi said Bush broke “years of precedent” by submitting a trade deal for congressional approval without first getting the consent of House and Senate leaders.

Administration officials and Republican congressional leaders blasted Pelosi’s maneuver, which they said violated the spirit of the fast-track trade law and undermined U.S. trade policy.

Democrats, including those who recently supported controversial trade agreements, rallied around Pelosi and criticized the president for his unwillingness to negotiate with Congress.

Pelosi announced her decision a few hours before Democratic and Republican leaders were scheduled to visit Bush at the White House to discuss a range of issues.

She said she had warned Bush not to send the trade deal to Congress and that it would probably not have enough votes to pass. She tied the standoff on trade to the worsening economy, calling attention to consumers’ decreased buying power and the rising cost of goods. 

Pelosi had been under heavy pressure from organized labor and Democratic lawmakers to scuttle the Colombia deal. Several freshmen, including Reps. Phil Hare (D-Ill.) and Ron Klein (D-Fla.), told Pelosi they opposed the trade agreement during a breakfast meeting Wednesday morning. Hare said he reminded the Speaker that the Democratic presidential contenders, Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), shared his view.