Has the farm bill hit a dead end?

Senator Mitch McConnell returned after a three-month absence to cast the deciding vote advancing the Senate's farm bill out of committee, but the measure still faces a steep climb to the 60 votes needed on the floor. Democrats blocked the bill in August and remain opposed because it does not reverse the $186 billion in SNAP cuts enacted last year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Democrats are also pushing to delay a change that would raise states' administrative costs for running SNAP, a change the current bill does not address. Advocates note rural areas have higher SNAP participation than cities, meaning the cuts land hardest on the farmers' own customer base.

One provision, the Save Our Bacon Act, which would have loosened restrictions on animal confinement, was left out of the Senate draft, a rare point of relief for some agricultural groups. Absent a deal, federal agricultural programs continue under stopgap funding, and Congress would face the same fight again in 2027.

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