House GOP Whip Tom Emmer says on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers that he doesn’t think fellow Minnesotan, Amy Klobuchar, will leave the Senate to run for governor. There has been talk that Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, would enter the race after Tim Walz announced Monday he wouldn’t seek re-election.
"We do a lot of work together. She's not going to run for governor. I'd be shocked. She will be here in Washington. She'll be doing her job,” Emmer tells Newsmakers anchor Lydia Johnson.
Emmer talks about a wide range of issues on Newsmakers, including the prospects for E-15 legislation and a second budget reconciliation bill.
Take note: If Klobuchar were to leave the Senate, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Agri-Pulse he’d be interested in taking her place as either ranking or chair on Senate Ag, depending on which party controls the chamber. Booker will be next in line in seniority on the Democratic side, followed by New Mexico’s Ben Ray Luján.
"I would be excited and privileged to be the chair of one of the most important committees to Americans and American farmers and the American food system," Booker told Agri-Pulse. "It's a vital committee. That's why I got on there. I'm excited about the prospect of continuing that in the future."
Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Un-liberation day?
The Supreme Court could issue a verdict as soon as today in a landmark case challenging the legality of President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Friday is an opinion day for the court, although it does not say which cases will get decision.
Trump told the New York Times in an extended interview this week that officials have already considered workarounds should he lose, including through repackaging the tariffs as “license fees.”
The 1977 law that Trump used to place duties on dozens of countries on “Liberation Day” specifically allows the imposition of licenses but does not directly mention tariffs.
Take note: The justices also plan to meet today to discuss whether to grant a petition from Bayer subsidiary Monsanto. The company maintains the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act preempts liability claims made by plaintiffs in state courts.
Bayer has settled about 100,000 cases but faces thousands more. The plaintiffs allege that exposure to the herbicide Roundup caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Rollins, other officials to tout dietary guidelines across the country
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will hit the road next week to promote the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Kyle Diamantas, the Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner for human foods, said at an event celebrating the new DGAs Thursday that federal officials including Rollins, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others would be traveling to “schools, VA clinics, farms, hospitals, and many other locations as we kick off the 2026 dietary guidelines for America road show.”
Rollins touted proposed stocking requirements for SNAP retailers that would require them to sell more items from four staple food groups – dairy, protein, grains, and fruits and vegetables.
“Starting almost immediately, we are doubling what's called the stocking standard, making sure that if they're going to take a tax dollar on behalf of those with the least among us, that they will have twice as many healthy alternatives to choose from,” she said.
Trump backs Russia sanctions bill with steep tariffs, senator says
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says his proposal to sanction Russia has Trump’s backing and could face a vote to advance the bill as soon as next week.
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others,” Graham said in a social media post Wednesday evening.
The measure would, among other things, impose 500% duties on countries that buy Russian oil. China, India and Brazil all buy Russian oil. The bill is backed by more than 80 senators from both parties.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., has an identical bill in the House with 151 cosponsors.
But, but, but: The tariff provisions could be omitted from the final bill. Fitzpatrick told Agri-Pulse Thursday that the measures were “encountering some resistance” from House lawmakers. Accordingly, he introduced a version of the bill without the tariff piece.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., takes questions from reporters near the Senate subway after votes. (Agri-Pulse photo)New screwworm case detected 215 miles from Texas border
New World screwworm has been detected in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, 215 miles south of the U.S. border, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
A press release from the Texas Department of Agriculture says the infected animal had no history of movement outside of Tamaulipas and is that state third active case. However, Mexican officials “report no evidence yet of an established screwworm population” in the Mexican state, the release says.
The agency is advising livestock producers to monitor their animals closely and report any suspicious wounds or infestations they notice.
Strawberry antidumping case could set new model for ag industries
A lawyer representing a group of Florida-based strawberry growers says an antidumping case could serve as a new model for ag industry petitions.
Daniel Pickard, who leads the international trade practice at Buchanan Ingersoll and Rooney, tells Agri-Pulse he used a rare provision of the law to limit the scope of the analysis to a singular region.
“Generally, trade cases are brought on a national basis,” Pickard said. A “regional industry” provision allows petitioners from a geographical region to mount an investigation for issues that may not affect the national industry or have broad industry support.
The strawberry industry, he said, is largely split between California and Florida, but Florida has faced the brunt of the injury from winter imports from Mexico.
“This is the type of thing that Congress clearly was thinking about when they passed this law,” Pickard said.
Final Word:
"As Secretary of Health and Human Services, my message is clear: Eat real food. if it doesn't come from the ground, the water or the air, don't eat it. If it comes wrapped in a package, that it's clear that the whole thing is a package, don’t eat it. Nothing matters more for health outcomes, economic productivity, military readiness and fiscal stability.” - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the government’s new Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Phil Brasher, Steve Davies, Oliver Ward, Lydia Johnson and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.
