Heath Tarbert, a senior Treasury Department official and a legal specialist in international financial markets, was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday to be a member and chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

House Democratic leaders look to finally push through on Monday a $19.1 billion disaster relief bill that a handful of conservative Republicans blocked from passing while most lawmakers were out of town for the 10-day Memorial Day recess.

Assured of President Donald Trump's support, the Senate and then the House passed a fiscal 2019 spending agreement Thursday to avert another government shutdown and fund USDA, Interior, FDA and other departments and agencies important to agriculture through Sept. 30.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed two orders today that settle charges against an introducing broker and two commodity trades for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission Regulations, including for attempted manipulation, fraud, and unauthorized trading.

Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee are rushing to finalize agreement on a bipartisan farm bill with an eye toward getting it out of the chamber this month to set the stage for negotiations with their House counterparts.

A bill that President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law will soon give rural banks some relief from Dodd-Frank regulations that critics say have sometimes constrained agricultural lending.