Senate Republicans are trying to find agreement this week on their version of the One Big Beautiful Bill that may scale back some of the House spending cuts, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will face the House Ag Committee amid the department's downsizing and the uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.

Also this week, the House Appropriations Committee will debate its fiscal 2026 spending bill for USDA and the Food and Drug Administration, and President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy ag secretary Stephen Vaden will get a long-awaited Senate confirmation vote.

On the trade front, Chinese officials are scheduled to meet in London Monday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer. Bessent will return to Washington for a series of hearings on Capitol Hill, starting Wednesday.

Also on Capitol Hill this week, the House will consider a package of $9.4 billion in rescissions to spending for public broadcasting and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has provided limited details on the USAID projects that would be killed by the rescissions package, but OMB indicated that they included food and agriculture assistance projects in very poor areas of Africa.

The Senate GOP’s attempt to agree on changes to the House budget reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, comes amid mounting criticism of its impact on federal budget deficits. The Congressional Budget Office last week estimated the bill would increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over 10 years.

But the House bill’s reductions in Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the legislation’s cuts to climate-related tax breaks have drawn opposition from some senators, who believe the cuts go too far.

The Senate Agriculture Committee, which is expected to release its proposals for the bill this week, is expected to ditch the House bill’s requirement that states start paying a share of SNAP costs.

Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said last week the final number for his panel's spending cut is still a “moving target.” But he acknowledged that Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., would like the committee to propose a net reduction of about $150 billion, well short of the $238 billion in savings that would be generated by the House bill, even after additional spending for farm bill programs.

“We're going to do our best to come up with as much savings as we can,” while also ensuring the bill can still pass, Boozman said.

The Senate version is expected to retain key farm bill provisions, including increases in Price Loss Coverage reference prices and an increase in premium subsidies for the supplemental coverage option for crop insurance policies. Some smaller provisions that are in the House farm bill could fall away due to objections by the Senate parliamentarian.

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Senate Ag Committee member John Hoeven, R-N.D., said of the bill, “We want to make sure we have the counter cyclical safety net in there and enhancement of crop insurance. And we want to make sure that we have what we need for savings in food stamps.”

The Senate bill is likely to include expanded work requirements for SNAP as well as increased spending for commodity programs.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday defended the House bill against the criticism of deficit hawks. "This is going to jet fuel the U.S. economy. And I tell you what, all wages are going to rise. There’s going to be more jobs and economic opportunity for more people. We cannot wait to deliver that, and the sooner the better," Johnson told ABC News. 

Rollins will be making her first appearance before the House Ag Committee since taking over USDA in February.

Rollins has vigorously defended the president’s trade policy, and she’s likely to be questioned about that as well as the department’s downsizing. The department’s reorganization plan remains blocked in the courts, but the 15,000 layoffs that have taken place at USDA have raised some concerns about brain drain.

“There's some extraordinary talent that walked out the door when this happened,” Trump transition adviser Brian Klippenstein said at a conference last week. “Everyone's replaceable, but sometimes it takes more than a minute,” Klippenstein said.

Rollins may finally get a deputy secretary this week. Thune has teed up a cloture vote this week on the nomination of Stephen Vaden to have the No. 2 post at USDA.

The Senate Ag Committee advanced Vaden’s nomination on a party-line, 12-11 vote in May. Vaden served as USDA’s general counsel in the first Trump administration and was later named to the Court of International Trade.

The new chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aubrey Bettencourt, will be the keynote speaker at the annual Agri-Pulse Food and Ag Issues Summit West in Sacramento, California. California Food and Ag Secretary Karen Ross will also speak along with industry leaders and economists.

Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EDT):

Monday, June 9

American Seed Trade Association Leadership Summit, through Wednesday, Grand Hyatt Washington.

International Fresh Produce Association Washington Conference, through Wednesday, Grand Hyatt Washington.

International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo through Wednesday, Omaha, Nebraska.

USA Peanut Congress through Thursday, Nashville, Tennessee.

American Agri-Women Washington Conference through Tuesday, The Morrow Washington.

4 p.m. – USDA releases Crop Progress report.

Tuesday, June 10

Agri-Pulse Food and Ag Issues Summit West, Sacramento, California.

The Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences hosts its annual Summer Science Symposium, through Wednesday, National Press Club. 

USA Rice Millers' Association Convention through Thursday, Colorado Springs.

10 a.m. – House Agriculture Committee meeting to consider the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, 1300 Longworth.

Wednesday, June 11

8:30 a.m. – Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the monthly Consumer Price Index.

10 a.m. – House Agriculture Committee hearing with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, 1300 Longworth.

10 a.m. – House Appropriations Committee meeting to consider the fiscal 2026 Agriculture spending bill, 2359 Rayburn.

10 a.m. – House Ways and Means Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 1100 Longworth.

10 a.m. – Senate Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation, 138 Dirksen.

10:30 a.m. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Forest Service, 124 Dirksen.

3:30 p.m. – Senate Financial Services-General Government Appropriations Subcommittee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 138 Dirksen.

7:05 p.m. – Congressional Baseball Game, Nationals Park.

Thursday, June 12

8:30 a.m. – USDA releases Weekly Export Sales report.

10 a.m. – Senate Finance Committee hearing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 215 Dirksen.

Noon – USDA releases monthly Crop Production report and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

Friday, June 13 

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