It’s a packed day on Capitol Hill: The House Agriculture Committee is examining the always-thorny issue of helping Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients find work and the Senate Ag Committee holds a confirmation hearing for two important nominees.
Stephen Vaden, nominated to be deputy secretary at USDA, will testify, as will Tyler Clarkson, nominated to be general counsel. Clarkson served as deputy general counsel during the first Trump administration, when Vaden was general counsel.
In addition, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the Trump administration’s trade policy agenda, with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer the only witness.
Emergency U.S. food aid axed
There are new developments in the Trump administration’s effort to reduce or eliminate foreign aid. The UN World Food Program says the administration has canceled emergency food assistance in 14 countries.
“If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger,” the WFP says in a statement.
The Associated Press reported Monday that about 60 cancellation letters had been sent over the past week. The countries affected include Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. The State Department had no immediate comment.
Trump delivers fresh tariff threat to China
President Donald Trump has warned Beijing that if it doesn’t drop its 34% retaliatory tariffs, the U.S. will hike duties on Chinese goods by another 50% starting Wednesday.
“Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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But, but, but: The president also teased talks with other partners on tariff reductions. “Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately,” he wrote.
Why it matters: The scope of further retaliation on U.S. exports is still up in the air. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday offered Trump a “zero-for-zero” tariff deal on industrial goods. But she also reaffirmed her commitment to use all available tools to retaliate, if needed.
The bloc will send a list of countermeasures to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs to members for approval this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would eliminate some trade barriers during a meeting with Trump on Monday. “I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same,” he said.
Floods strike central, southern U.S.
Days of intense rainfall have caused severe flooding in parts of the Midwest and South. Among the worst-hit states are Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Rains that began last Tuesday and lasted through Saturday have left up to 16 inches of rainfall in some locations, according to USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. At least 21 people have died, multiple outlets have reported.
Some farmers who had begun planting corn and soybeans worry about potentially needing to start over due to water standing in their fields for a day or longer.
Maine sues USDA in continuation of transgender athlete fight
The state of Maine is suing Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, claiming that the department’s recent freeze on funding to the state has caught child nutrition funding.
The state’s attorney general, Aaron Frey, filed a complaint in federal court in Maine Monday against USDA and Rollins for “withholding funding used to feed children in schools, childcare centers, and after-school programming as well as disabled adults in congregate settings,” according to a news release from the AG’s office.
Rollins said April 2 the freeze was imposed over Maine’s policies regarding transgender athletes and told the state’s governor in a letter that food for children wouldn’t be affected. But the state said when the Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Program tried to access “several sources of funding” the next day, it could not.
USDA did not respond to a request for comment.
Senators push EPA on biofuel mandates
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the top Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, are leading a letter to EPA in support of the renewable diesel and biodiesel sectors.
The letter that will be going to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin calls on the agency to set usage mandates for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels that “are consistent with production and availability, while ensuring an equivalent increase in total volumes to preserve demand across all categories of biofuels.”
The letter, which will be signed by at least 16 senators, also says that any gallons waived through small refinery exemptions should be added back to overall obligations.
By the way: In a letter to Trump, small refineries say an increase in biofuel mandates will increase the price of RINs, or RFS blending credits. This could cause “irreparable harm” to small refineries, they argue. The move follows a recent meeting between EPA and a coalition of oil and biofuel groups. In that meeting, the coalition suggested increased biomass-based diesel volumes.
The small refineries point out that they were not represented in this meeting, and only large oil companies were included alongside biofuel producers. The companies wrote they welcome an opportunity to participate in these discussions, or urged the administration to grant them relief if biofuel volumes are increased.
Final word
“The president is reordering trade. On the other side, we are shedding excess labor in the federal government and bringing down federal borrowings. And then on the other side of that, we will have the labor we need for new manufacturing” in the U.S. – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaking to Tucker Carlson on Monday.
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