(WASHINGTON D.C.) — The top Senate Republican is privately warning the White House that American farmers — a key GOP constituency — will continue to suffer if the Trump administration doesn’t reopen the flow of certain farm loans amid the government shutdown.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is quietly pressing the administration officials to let farmers continue to access Marketing Assistance Loans, which allow them to meet cash flow needs during harvest season and as they make planting decisions for next year, according to four people with direct knowledge of the conversations, including two Trump officials. Politico reports that would also require USDA to reopen thousands of shuttered county Farm Service Agency offices across the country in order to facilitate those loans.
So far, administration officials say they have no plans to shift other money around for the agriculture loans like they’ve done with troop pay and other priorities. “We’re working that issue, and I hope to get an answer soon,” Thune said in a brief interview Thursday.