The partial government shutdown that has forced the furlough of half USDA’s workforce, including most of the field staff that directly serves farmers, is dragging into another week and may delay the announcement of an emergency farm aid package.
Federal employees have been braced for White House Budget Director Russ Vought to carry out his threat of mass layoffs, but so far he hasn’t made any announcements beyond suspending or cancelling funding intended for Democratic states.
Some 42,000 of USDA's 86,000 employees are currently furloughed, including most of those working for the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service. The shutdown is delaying work on processing commodity program payments and implementation of changes to farm bill programs made by the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill, enacted in July.
Senate Democrats who have blocked passage of the GOP’s stopgap spending bill have yet to relent on their demands that it include an extension of expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance policies. The enrollment period for 2026 policies starts Nov. 1.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has ruled out considering the ACA subsidies until Democrats agree to reopen the government..The House has been out of session the last two weeks, and GOP leaders have not scheduled any action this week either. Members will be given 48 hours notice if they need to return to Washington.
"There’s not a lot to negotiate. The Democrats just need to open up the government," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News. "They’ll get another chance on Monday to vote again, and I hope some have a change of heart.
House GOP Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said the shutdown is hurting ordinary Americans. “Our men and women in uniform. Veterans. Air traffic controllers. Farmers and ranchers. Federal workers and their families. Americans who rely on telehealth and home care services. These are just a few of the victims of the Chuck Schumer-Democrat shutdown," Emmer said in a statement, referring to the Senate minority leader.
House Democrats have scheduled a Monday conference call to discuss the situation.
"Republicans have set in motion a healthcare crisis that has ended Medicaid as we know it and ripped coverage away from millions of hardworking Americans. Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing. People will die," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a note to colleagues on Saturday.
"If the Affordable Care Act tax credits are not renewed in short order, millions will lose their healthcare coverage, and the cost of premiums, co-pays and deductibles will skyrocket."
The top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, slammed President Donald Trump for both the shutdown and the simmering trade war with China that is hindering exports of soybeans and other commodities. Speaking at a Friday news conference, Klobuchar suggested rural Americans will suffer from both rising health care costs and depressed farm income.
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“So why is this something we're standing up for now? Because it's happening now,” Klobuchar said of the expiring ACA subsidies.
“Ask anyone you know, it is not a December thing, it is not a January thing, it is a now thing, and we are asking them [Republicans] to meet with us to do something to help fix this health care crisis, and it's something they can do. It's something I am sure many of you have heard them behind closed doors say they actually want to do, because they realize so many” of their constituents are affected.
Citing the shutdown, USDA has already cancelled the scheduled release of reports this week, including the World Agricultural Demand and Supply Estimates, which was scheduled to be posted on Thursday.
Tariff help incoming?
An announcement on tariff assistance may not land this week, despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicating the administration is eyeing Tuesday to unveil a new package. But the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, John Hoeven, R-N.D., says farmers shouldn’t hold their breath for an announcement this week.
“We're kind of looking at next week maybe to do something,” Hoeven told reporters on Friday. “But I think that could change now with the shutdown.”
Some details still remain up in the air, according to multiple people Agri-Pulse spoke to. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said that officials are still working out the size of the package.
A person familiar with the planning efforts granted anonymity to speak frankly about the state of discussions suggested that Bessent may have jumped the gun in teasing an announcement before the administration was ready.
“The head doesn't know what the tail is doing,” the person said.
Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and President Donald Trump met on Wednesday to discuss the path forward. Notably, although Bessent used an interview on CNBC the following day to tease a forthcoming announcement, Rollins made no mention of imminent news on tariff assistance in her own media appearance on Fox Business.
Carney comes to town
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Washington this week for a meeting with Trump on Tuesday, the prime minister’s office says. The visit comes as both sides step up their internal consultations ahead of a review of a North American Trade pact slated for next year.
U.S. stakeholders have until Nov. 3 to submit public comments on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and suggest improvements to the deal. Canada launched a second public consultation period last month.
There are signs, however, that Ottawa may be open to addressing some of U.S. ag’s concerns. Canada’s Globe and Mail reported last week that officials are weighing whether to allow more access to Canada’s dairy tariff-rate quotas for retailers.
Becky Rasdall Vargas, vice president of trade policy at the International Dairy Foods Association, told Agri-Pulse that the move would be a first step to addressing some of the U.S. issues with Canada’s supply management system.
But she added that Canadian dairy industry figures have been “very negative” about the potential changes, with many doubting the concession would be enough to secure Canada’s broader trade goal of getting the U.S. to lift some of its national security tariffs – including those on cars and metals, as well as forthcoming lumber and timber tariffs.
Dominic Leblanc, Canada’s minister for Canadian-U.S. trade, sought to temper expectations of what could be achieved in ongoing U.S. trade talks and the forthcoming USMCA review when he addressed MPs on a Canadian Senate foreign affairs and trade panel Thursday.
“I do believe this is resolvable,” Leblanc said, but added that “the relationship with the United States has fundamentally changed and it will not magically go back to what it may have been a year ago or 25 years ago.”
Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EDT):
Monday, Oct. 6
Noon – Center for Strategic and International Studies forum, “Big Deal, Small Deal, or No Deal? Possible Outcomes of a Trump-Xi Summit.”
Tuesday, Oct. 7
9 a.m. – Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi, 216 Hart.
2 p.m. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on China’s behavior in the Indo-Pacific, 419 Dirksen.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Food is Medicine annual summit, through Thursday.
10 a.m. – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on labor law reform, 430 Dirksen.
Thursday, Oct. 9
All day – U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, “Permit America to Build: Legislative Day of Action,” 106 Dirksen.
Friday, Oct. 10
Kim Chipman contributed to this report.
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