A new $8 billion farm aid pledge from President Donald Trump may come too late to matter for vulnerable Republicans, Politico reported.
Trump unveiled the payments, meant for farmers squeezed by expensive diesel, at a Kansas rally Monday for Sen. Roger Marshall, who is in a tough race. The White House has been working to contain frustration among farm-state Republicans over beef imports, tariffs and fuel prices linked to the Iran war, all of which have hurt a core GOP constituency.
The problem, though, wrote Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill, is that “the internal, taxpayer funded USDA account Trump is tapping doesn’t actually have enough $$ in it right now to make the direct payments. Congress will have to approve the new funds (a fight ahead in a GOP package or bipartisan year-end bill) or the admin will have to take it from another program, per Trump officials.”
Farmers likely won’t know their payment amounts for several weeks. Three people familiar with the plans said that even if it clears Congress without much of a fight, the money probably wouldn’t reach them until late November or December, after Election Day, which is two weeks away.
Republicans in tight races are still hoping it will help.
Voters around the country have been revolting over high fuel and grocery prices; it has gotten so extreme that several Republican candidates have asked their voters to help them raise money for gas to continue their campaign tours.
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