Articles by Philip Brasher

Senate Republicans are planning to put the first fiscal 2026 appropriations bills on the floor this week, testing Democrats over the GOP's successful rescission of $9 billion worth of FY25 spending. A key Agriculture Committee nominee also will get a confirmation hearing this week.

The cost of groceries rose 0.3% for the second month in a row and is up 2.4% from a year ago. The index for beef rose 2% after declining slightly in May and is up 10.6% from a year ago.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be at USDA today for what’s being billed as a “major announcement.” He’ll be joined by Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, and Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association.

Senate Republicans face a critical test of their loyalty to President Donald Trump as they head toward debate on a $9.4 billion package of funding cuts to foreign assistance and public broadcasting that the White House is asking Congress to affirm. Also this week, the Trump administration could clear the way for new duties on Mexican tomatoes. 

Trump administration officials met with farm leaders at the White House Wednesday, according to a summary of the meeting provided by the White House.

President Donald Trump is facing a backlash from some of his base over his promises to shield farmworkers from mass deportations. So, Trump and Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins stressed at separate events Tuesday that there will be “no amnesty” for farmworkers.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson wants to move legislation this fall to address farm and nutrition programs left out of the budget reconciliation bill.

The Trump administration is planning unspecified steps to “claw back” farmland belonging to Chinese-owned agribusiness giants Smithfield Foods and Syngenta, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. On ag labor, Rollins said there would be no "amnesty" for farmworkers but that the administration would be "strategic in how we are implementing the mass deportations so as not to compromise our food supply."

President Donald Trump and his top economic official are now eying Aug. 1 as the new deadline for when reciprocal tariffs will snap back into place on some U.S. trading partners.

House GOP leaders overcame Republican objections to Senate provisions on SNAP, rural hospitals and other issues overnight Thursday to clear President Donald Trump’s massive spending and tax package for his signature. The bill will provide $66 billion in new spending for farm programs, the largest infusion of new money into farm programs since 2002.