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IN THIS EDITION

The farm bill’s urgency…and hurdles

What we’re watching

What the future holds for the Education Department

THE TOP

The farm bill’s urgency…and hurdles

Happy Monday morning.

Agriculture leaders are eager to move ahead with the farm bill, hoping to keep the bipartisan package from getting backtracked — or compromised — by the GOP’s reconciliation bill.

House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) said there’s a need to enact the farm bill as soon as possible. Thompson has floated getting it done in the next six months, saying he wants to avoid last year’s situation when farm-state lawmakers had to push leadership to include extra money for farmers in end-of-year legislation.

“The sooner we can do it in 2025, the better,” Thompson said. “Budget reconciliation is going to take a while. It won’t interfere with the farm bill process. I’m very supportive, but my first priority will always be getting a farm bill.”

While there’s bipartisan will to swiftly enact a farm bill, Democrats have advised that what happens in reconciliation may hurt a farm bill’s chances.

At stake: Enacting a five-year farm bill helps provide consistency in food assistance and agriculture policy. It authorizes funding for risk management for farmers, access to food and nutrition for low-income families and conservation and innovation programs.

The farm bill also provides income stability and crop insurance for farmers, who are increasingly squeezed by high input costs but low commodity prices, as well as natural disasters destroying crops.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, has also said the bird flu outbreak hitting cows and dairy farmers will need to be addressed.

The House and Senate Agriculture Committees have both already kicked off their farm bill processes with hearings and the House panel has another one this week. In the Senate, Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) said it’s important for the next farm bill to improve risk management tools to help specialty crop and livestock producers, and invest in animal health programs to prevent outbreaks.

Wrestling with reconciliation: House agriculture Republicans also held a meeting last week where members discussed both the farm bill and reconciliation, including the need to get the farm bill over the finish line as soon as possible.

“It all fits together, in this great puzzle,” said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), a former chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

Reconciliation, of course, is the top priority for the Republican conference. It also may impact farm bill talks, depending on the final amount the agriculture committees are instructed to cut. The House budget resolution that passed last week instructed Thompson’s panel to find $230 billion in cuts, while the Senate’s skinny plan only called for $1 billion.

Thompson and Boozman have both said they don’t want to see pay-fors that could be used in the farm bill taken away for reconciliation.

That gets more complicated the higher the cuts for reconciliation have to be, Thompson said.

“If I have to do $230 billion, I can do that without impeding the farm bill,” he said. “It would be hard.”

Of course, several House Republicans are now hoping the $230 billion gets watered down by the Senate.

Either way, Thompson said he won’t pursue cuts to SNAP benefits. Instead, he’s looking at “program integrity” measures that would save money by ensuring the states are properly administering the program, he said.

Bipartisan woes: Any farm bill will need Democratic support. Talks fell apart last year, with former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Thompson and Boozman disagreeing over a rollback of Inflation Reduction Act funds, among other issues.

Now, however, there’s two new Democrats leading the agriculture committees. Thompson has said he’s looking forward to working with new ranking member Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and Klobuchar told us she has a “really good” working relationship with Boozman.

Still, reconciliation and certain Trump administration actions may complicate what Democrats will seek and support in farm bill talks. Both Craig and Klobuchar expressed concern over the impact of Trump’s tariffs on farmers and food prices.

Democrats also oppose cuts to SNAP but won’t have a say in whatever changes Thompson and Boozman seek in reconciliation. The House Republican budget resolution, Klobuchar warned, hurts the farm bill’s chances.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the GOP’s reconciliation bill adds to the importance of enacting a farm bill soon.

Here’s Warnock:

Klobuchar also noted last week that the farm bill will have to address issues caused by any tariffs implemented by Trump, as well as any workforce shortages or emerging diseases that present additional challenges.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way,” she told us. “Obviously we’re going to need a bipartisan bill.”

– Samantha Handler

THE WEEK AHEAD

What we’re watching

The Senate, in addition to more nominations, will take up Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) legislation that would ban transgender athletes in women’s sports.

The House will consider three resolutions under the Congressional Review Act to reverse Biden-era energy regulations.

Monday: The House Rules Committee will meet to consider the CRA resolutions.

Tuesday: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Elbridge Colby to be the undersecretary of defense for policy.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for several State Department nominees.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure’s aviation subcommittee will hold a hearing on the air traffic controller system.

The House Agriculture Committee’s livestock subcommittee will hold a hearing on the state of the livestock industry.

The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the future of FEMA.

Wednesday: The Senate HELP Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Jay Bhattacharya to be the director of the National Institutes of Health.

The Senate Budget Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for former Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) to be the Office of Management and Budget’s deputy director.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a meeting to consider subpoenas for the Massachusetts Port Authority and NewPoint Strategies.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for two Environmental Protection Agency nominees.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing with sanctuary city mayors.

Two House Appropriations subcommittees will hold member day hearings for FY2026 bills.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a legislative hearing on several veterans’ benefits bills.

Thursday: The Senate HELP Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Keith Sonderling to be the deputy labor secretary and Martin Makary to be the FDA commissioner.

The Senate Finance Committee will examine Michael Faulkender’s nomination to be the deputy treasury secretary.

A Senate Agriculture subcommittee will hold a hearing on legislation to reduce catastrophic wildfires.

– Samantha Handler

EDUCATION DEPT. UPDATES

What the future holds for the Education Department

The Department of Education has been a top target for the Trump administration with some wanting it abolished. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is already slashing away at its budget.

DOGE has canceled nearly $900 million in contracts from the department’s Institute of Education Sciences. Musk also threatened to revoke federal funding for public schools and universities unless they cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

But soon the department will have a confirmed leader with the Senate expected to approve the nomination of Linda McMahon to be education secretary Monday. Once in charge, will she simply carry on DOGE’s cost-cutting approach? What other policies will she focus on beyond trimming budgets?

McMahon told senators during her confirmation process that she “wholeheartedly” supports President Donald Trump’s mission to abolish the department so that “we can return education to the state, where it belongs.” That will be quite a task for the former administrator of the Small Business Administration and the past World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive.

We wanted to know what policies Republican senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee want McMahon to pursue as head of an agency that impacts students across the country.

So, we asked them. Here’s what they told us.

Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said the new secretary should empower the states to take charge of their education systems. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) made similar comments.

States are already in charge of their education systems but rely heavily on the federal agency for some funding and guidance.

Here’s Cassidy:

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) likes the DOGE approach and would like to see deep cuts to the department, similar to what Musk is doing across the federal government.

Tuberville told us he wants McMahon to cut down on the department’s staff, dismantle the agency and give states more money and power over their education systems.

Dem worries: Democrats’ growing concerns for the department highlight a lack of communication from Musk’s team for what’s next for education.

Republicans don’t share those worries and Tuberville isn’t the only one who wants the agency to undergo massive downsizing.

Republican senators on the HELP committee have also argued the agency has been failing K-12 students in literacy, math and history.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said the department’s structure had not been working for some time. He added that he is uncertain as to what changes to the department would look like on a state level. He said he wasn’t concerned about threats to dismantle the agency.

“The system we have isn’t working. I don’t know what [change] looks like but we might as well start back to where we were number one and see what we were doing right and how we can improve it,” Mullin told us.

— Lillian Juarez