Deal pushes reconciliation bill closer to House floor vote... The House Rules Committee worked through the night and into Wednesday morning on a sweeping legislative package backed by President Donald Trump that includes a debt ceiling increase, tax cuts, Medicaid restrictions and a decade-long path to spending reductions. Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said just after midnight that negotiators had struck a deal with key Republican holdouts over changes to the 2017 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) — a major sticking point.
“We’ve reached a deal. We’re still having some conversations with a few more members on a couple of things in the White House but we’re about to wrap it up,” Scalise told Bloomberg.
The last-minute compromises will be packaged in a manager’s amendment, which had not yet been released as of early morning. Committee debate is expected to continue for several more hours before a vote on advancing the bill to the House floor.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he plans to hold a floor vote on the measure today.
GOP leaders acknowledged the bill faces significant uncertainty in the Senate, where changes are likely.
RFK Jr. says MAHA report won’t target ag practices... Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers Tuesday the forthcoming “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) report will not disparage American farmers or widely used agricultural chemicals such as glyphosate. Testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Kennedy pushed back against Republican concerns that the MAHA Commission’s findings would unfairly criticize modern farming. “There’s nobody that has a greater commitment to the American farmer than we do,” Kennedy said. “The MAHA movement collapses if we can’t partner with the American farmer in producing a safe, robust and abundant food supply.”
The testimony came amid rising concern from lawmakers, including Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), who cited “reliable sources” suggesting that the MAHA report may target crop protection tools and seed oils — particularly glyphosate and the so-called “Hateful Eight” industrial oils made from crops like canola, sunflower and soy. “If Americans lose confidence in the safety and integrity of our food supply due to the unfounded claims that mislead consumers, public health will be at risk,” Hyde-Smith warned. She pressed Kennedy on whether he had reviewed the thousands of scientific studies affirming glyphosate’s safety, questioning whether his environmental law background might bias the report.
Kennedy rejected the premise. “The drafts that I’ve seen, there is not a single word in them that should worry the American farmer,” he responded. The MAHA Commission report is set for release on Thursday. Kennedy declined to preview recommendations, urging lawmakers instead to review the full document once published.
GOP farm bill criticized by Tester... In a pointed MSNBC commentary, former Democratic Montana senator and longtime farmer Jon Tester sharply criticized the GOP-led House reconciliation bill and its proposed agriculture provisions. Tester accused House Republicans of abandoning bipartisan tradition and endangering the longstanding urban-rural coalition that has underpinned past farm bills.
“The recent farm provisions proposed by the GOP-led House of Representatives should give all Americans pause,” Tester wrote. “Perhaps most alarmingly, those same House Republicans who decry socialism on one hand are pushing American farmers to take more money from the government and less from the marketplace. That sounds a lot like socialism to me.” Tester warned the bill would:
- Shift SNAP costs to states, worsening food insecurity and passing the blame
- Expand farm subsidies without addressing market competition
- Hurt demand for commodities by cutting nutrition support
- Ignore bipartisan negotiation, further polarizing farm policy
He also amplified concerns from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who said: “Instead of working with Democrats to lower costs from President Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, House Republicans have decided to pull the rug out from under families by cutting the SNAP benefits that 42 million Americans rely on... That’s shameful.” Tester concluded by urging Republicans to “go back to the drawing board” and produce a farm bill that reflects 21st-century needs and reinforces — not undermines — rural America.
OMB schedules seven meetings on 2026 RFS proposals... The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has now scheduled seven stakeholder meetings on EPA’s proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) levels for 2026 and beyond. Key industry groups set to meet include:
- May 22: National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA)
- May 27: Fuels America
- May 28: American Biogas Council
- May 29: Amp Americas (on-farm dairy RNG developer)
- June 2: Renewable Fuels Association (RFA)
- June 3: Clean Fuels Alliance
- June 4: Renewable Natural Gas Coalition
In addition, OMB has scheduled June 5 and June 9 meetings on EPA’s separate final rule regarding the partial waiver of cellulosic biofuel requirements, with Amp Americas and RFA, respectively.
China’s wild card: Rare earth leverage in trade fight... Tensions between China and the Trump administration are rising again, just a week after a temporary trade truce. Earlier this week, China accused the U.S. of jeopardizing the fragile agreement by targeting tech giant Huawei. At the heart of China’s strategic leverage are rare earth minerals — critical materials essential for electric vehicles, defense systems and high-tech manufacturing. Beijing’s dominance in this supply chain gives it outsized influence in trade negotiations.
U.S. automakers have reportedly cautioned White House officials that any Chinese move to restrict rare earth exports could disrupt production lines and push vehicle prices higher. They are urging the administration to prioritize long-term access to these minerals in ongoing trade talks.
White House economist downplays tariff-driven inflation risks... White House Chief Economist Stephen Miran said the impact of rising tariffs on U.S. inflation is likely to be minimal and short-lived, countering warnings from Federal Reserve officials about potential price pressures. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Miran emphasized that imports make up only 14% of the U.S. economy and suggested that the administration’s ongoing tariff regime has not produced meaningful inflationary effects. “We have been introducing tariffs since day one of this administration,” Miran said. “There’s been no real meaningful effect on inflation.”
Miran pointed to the last three Consumer Price Index reports — including April’s 2.8% core inflation reading — as evidence that price pressures are moderating, with core inflation holding at its slowest pace since early 2021.
Miran, a former hedge fund strategist, noted that U.S. companies have options to source goods domestically or pivot to “countries that treat us better,” reducing inflationary risk. He acknowledged the potential for short-term volatility but insisted that over time the U.S. will “force the burden of the tariffs onto other countries.”
Looking ahead, Miran said falling inflation linked to the end of what he called the Biden administration’s “reckless” fiscal expansion will provide room to reduce interest rates. He linked long-run rate normalization to Republican policy goals: “We’re going to bring interest rates down through expanding the supply side of the economy,” he said, citing deregulation and the GOP’s tax package. “We get interest rates back to where they were pre-Covid, that’s another point off the deficit.”
Still, Fed officials remain cautious. Chair Jerome Powell recently said President Trump’s new tariffs could be “short lived” but might also prove “more persistent,” prompting the central bank to hold off on interest rate cuts for now.
Retailers choose their words carefully: navigating tariffs, pricing and public perception... Major U.S. retailers are facing a delicate balancing act as they respond to new tariffs and decide whether — and how — to raise prices. The challenge is not just about the economics of absorbing higher costs or passing them on, but also about the language and messaging used to explain these decisions to customers, investors and policymakers.
Walmart has openly stated it will raise prices on some items due to tariffs, drawing a sharp rebuke from President Trump, who urged the company to “eat the tariffs” rather than pass costs to consumers.
Home Depot, in contrast, told analysts it does not plan to raise prices in response to tariffs, citing its scale, supplier relationships and operational efficiencies as buffers. However, executives left room for nuance, indicating that while most prices will remain stable, some categories or products could still see increases.
Most U.S. companies are expected to raise prices, according to research from Allianz, making communication strategies more critical.