What looked like a 6-bill minibus on a glidepath to passage has now resulted in a partial government shutdown. Senate Democrats and the Trump Administration have brokered a deal to amend the minibus to include a continuing resolution for the Homeland Security funding bill while negotiations continue for a full year deal and to pass the remaining five bills as is. With passage out of the Senate late last week, all eyes are on the House to see how the close margins will shape the package’s fate.
President Trump is expected to give the first State of the Union of his second term on February 24th, kicking off in earnest the FY27 appropriations process as he shares his priorities for federal spending. A skinny budget request should be released near the SOTU with full funding tables coming later in the spring. To the ire of many appropriators, last year’s full budget request was slow to be released, but with the work of DOGE wrapped up, we may see them earlier this year. Beyond the standard State of the Union fare, we’ll be watching to see if the speech kicks off more serious conversations between the two chambers for a second reconciliation bill.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson has said he is planning for his committee to hold a markup on a skinny Farm Bill that addresses remaining priorities that were left out of last year’s H.R. 1. Most of the bill is likely to mirror policies that were in the 2024 markup, such as renewing and adjusting conservation, credit, and broadband programs. Committee leadership is also hoping to incorporate language removed from an appropriations bill that would have prevented the EPA from approving changes to pesticide labeling that would differ from the existing carcinogenicity classification. While there’s been a strong push from the ag community to get a full Farm Bill wrapped up, there may be headaches to come from the MAHA community and residual partisan animosity from last year’s reconciliation fight. We’ll be watching to see whether Congress can stick to its proposed timeline.
