GOP farm bill faces showdown
The House Agriculture Committee is set to mark up Republicans’ farm bill as Democrats warn it falls short on SNAP, tariffs and affordability.
Today in Congress
House Democratic leaders are increasingly linking the Trump administration’s military operation in Iran to their broader argument that Republicans are prioritizing war spending while cutting Medicaid and nutrition assistance, a contrast likely to surface this evening during the House Agriculture Committee’s markup of the Republican-crafted farm bill.
The Farm, Food, and National Security Act would extend core agriculture and nutrition programs through 2031, maintaining crop insurance and commodity supports for farmers while reauthorizing SNAP and rural development initiatives. It also updates conservation programs, expands rural broadband and infrastructure funding, revises farm loan programs and boosts agricultural research and trade promotion efforts.
House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) criticized the legislation as insufficient to address current challenges facing farmers, arguing it does not tackle tariffs, trade instability, year-round E15 expansion or input costs and instead includes provisions she described as partisan poison pills that could undermine bipartisan passage, while urging Republicans to negotiate a cross-party agreement.
House Agriculture Committee Democrats introduced the Farm and Family Relief Act in January, with more than a dozen House Democrats, characterizing it as the only bill aimed at providing targeted relief to family farmers and working households by addressing tariff-driven cost pressures and the impact of SNAP cuts. Members argue the legislation would counteract higher living and input costs she attributes to President Trump’s trade policies and Republican SNAP changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and they invited GOP colleagues to join them in advancing the measure.
Since expiring in 2023, the farm bill has been extended multiple times as Congress has struggled to reach agreement on spending levels, nutrition assistance, conservation programs and commodity supports, leaving the legislation stalled amid broader partisan fights over federal funding and SNAP.
Happenings
All times Eastern.
The House is in at 12 p.m. and will debate suspension bills at 2 p.m. Votes have been postponed until Wednesday.
The Senate is in at 10 a.m. and will resume consideration of the Housing for the 21st Century Act. It will recess from 12:30–2:15 p.m. for weekly party lunches. No votes have been scheduled at the time of publication.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an oversight hearing of the Department of Homeland Security at 9 a.m. Secretary Kristi Noem will testify.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing at 9:30 a.m. on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy. The committee will hold a closed session immediately after the hearing.
President Trump will participate in executive time at 8 a.m., followed by a greeting at 11:15 a.m., a bilateral meeting at 11:15 a.m., and a bilateral lunch with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump will meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright at 2 p.m. before back-to-back policy meetings at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
In the Know
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act, which would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on the nation’s 938 billionaires, projected to raise $4.4 trillion over a decade, according to estimates cited by the lawmakers. The bill would provide a $3,000 direct payment to individuals in households earning $150,000 or less in its first year and direct the remaining revenue toward programs including Medicaid restoration, Medicare expansion, affordable housing, child care, teacher pay and home health care.
— A federal court ordered DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restore members of Congress’s ability to conduct unannounced oversight visits at detention facilities, blocking a reinstated DHS policy that required prior notice. The ruling, in Joe Neguse et al. v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, follows a temporary restraining order granted earlier this year after several Democratic members were denied entry to a Minnesota facility and reaffirms Congress’s statutory authority to inspect detention conditions without advance notice.
— Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) on Monday introduced the Healthy Hair Act, legislation that would designate hair straightening and smoothing products containing formaldehyde as adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, effectively banning their sale in the United States. The bill follows repeated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in finalizing a proposed rule on formaldehyde in hair products and is backed by Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) and more than a dozen House cosponsors.
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