There’s no sign of a deal on year-round E15 ahead of Sunday’s self-imposed deadline for House Republicans. But Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson tells Agri-Pulse that E15 won’t be included in the upcoming farm bill, even if GOP lawmakers can agree on a deal in time.

Thompson expects to release the farm bill text on Friday.

“I wish them all the luck. I'm very supportive,” Thompson said about the effort by a House GOP group to come up with recommendations for a bill to allow year-round, nationwide sales of E15. “It's not going to be a part of the farm bill, obviously.” 

State of play: Along with the problem of finding a legislative vehicle for such a bill, an E15 discussion draft circulating on Capitol Hill Wednesday is getting pushback from both biofuel and independent refining groups, according to people speaking on the condition of anonymity.  

The proposal would keep intact the existing process for granting small refinery exemptions while capping the pool of exempted biofuel credit obligations, known as RINs, at 450 million a year. For context, EPA last year granted exemptions for multiple years that affected more than 3 billion RINs.  

House rebukes Trump’s Canada tariffs

House members dealt a blow to the Trump administration’s tariffs on Canada when they voted to overturn them in the first of what could be a series of votes on the president’s trade agenda.

The House voted to repeal the tariffs 219-211 Wednesday night, with six Republicans joining all but one Democrat in backing the effort. House Ag member Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., was among those who voted to eliminate the tariffs.

Keep in mind: The Senate has passed a similar measure to scrap the Canada duties, but neither effort has received a veto-proof majority.

President Donald Trump has argued the merits of his tariffs in recent months. In a Truth Social post immediately following the vote, he credited tariffs for recent stock market highs and threatened any Republican who voted against the duties with “consequences come election time.” Notably, Newhouse has already announced his forthcoming retirement.

Take note: The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday estimated that foreign exporters would absorb just 5% of the costs from Trump’s tariffs. Around 30% would be paid by U.S. businesses by reducing profit margins, with consumers footing the rest of the tab.

USDA issues framework to fight government lawfare

USDA has released a “framework” to combat what it calls “politically motivated lawfare” against farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers.

The framework defines “agricultural lawfare” as “the use of administrative, legal, and legislative government systems to adversely impact farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins was joined at an event Wednesday by several farming families that had been, or are, in disputes with government agencies over the use of their farmland.

“This is an incredibly complicated issue,” Rollins said, noting that the cases represented by the families involved government agencies at all levels.

One action item in the framework is to “Inventory and reduce civil and criminal penalties in regulation on U.S. agricultural production,” in line with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that aims “to ease the regulatory burden on everyday Americans and ensure no American is transformed into a criminal for violating a regulation they have no reason to know exists.”

USDA to establish new office focused on research security

Rollins says USDA is creating a new office focused on "research security” efforts at the agency.

Rollins, at an event with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said the new office would sit within USDA's Office of the Chief Scientist and would be "responsible for coordinating research security efforts across the entire USDA research enterprise, including both intramural and extramural activities.”

Rollins also said USDA would be partnering with the Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to share information with DOD about security vulnerabilities in agriculture, collaborate to develop new technology to solve industry challenges, and exchange personnel.

Newhouse airs frustration on ag labor progress

Rep. Dan Newhouse says members of Congress are becoming increasingly aware of the labor challenges faced by producers, but he says that’s no guarantee an ag labor bill can pass.

Newhouse told members of the National Council of Agricultural Employers that lawmakers no longer have the “excuse” that they can’t support farmworker legislation because of a mass influx of migrants across the southern border.

“Some people tell me, yeah, the border’s fixed. But you know what? There's millions of people in the country illegally, and I just can't support anything until we get that fixed, too.” He called that “moving the goalposts.”

By the way: Newhouse seemed optimistic that some of his Farm Workforce Modernization Act would be part of legislation due to be unveiled Friday by House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa.   

But in a brief interview, he said he expects that bill to take a “pragmatic” approach, which would preclude offering existing workers a pathway to legal status. “I'm guessing that what comes out of the committee will not have that provision,” he said.

USDA awards $212M in export support

USDA has announced its fiscal 2026 funding awards for two export support programs, with soybeans and meat receiving significant increases.

USDA will distribute $181 million through the Market Access Program, an almost $10 million increase from last year. The Foreign Market Development program is awarding $31 million, a $4 million increase from last year.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture saw its MAP allocation increase from almost $1.3 million to nearly $5 million. The American Soybean Association, U.S. Meat Export Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council also received bumps of more than $1 million.

The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council and U.S. Wheat Associates received additional funding of almost $1 million under the FMD program.

Final word

"We were picked to be the very first divorce amongst the Trump cabinet in our partnership with each other and, Bobby, I'm so proud to say it just couldn't be further from the truth." — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on her collaboration with and respect for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She said an article from one media outlet had speculated they would be the first cabinet members to "get divorced."

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