Republicans locked in tight races this November are desperately hoping the Trump administration\u2019s last-minute gambit to send farmers $8 billion in taxpayer money will work.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump announced the new round of money, aimed at farmers struggling with high diesel prices, during a Monday rally for at-risk GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. The move comes as White House officials have scrambled<\/a> to address anger in farm states from Republicans. Trump\u2019s decisions to import more foreign beef<\/a>, his tariff regime and high fuel costs amid the Iran war have riled already strained farmers and ranchers \u2014 a key GOP voting bloc.<\/p>\n

Farmers won\u2019t know how much money to expect for several more weeks. Even then, if approved, they won\u2019t receive the payments until late November or early December at the earliest, according to three people close to the plans, granted anonymity to share details.<\/p>\n

With two weeks to go before the election, the new aid may also arrive too late to convince some voters.<\/p>\n

But top Republicans are banking on the announcement to stem GOP bleeding in farm states \u2014 especially in the Midwest, where Marshall, GOP Senate nominee Ashley Hinson in Iowa and GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers in Michigan have been struggling in their election campaigns. In some cases, they’ve broken with Trump publicly on high prices and the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will go a long way to making sure the folks that feed us have it a bit easier when they most need it,\u201d said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, referring to the farmers in his district. The Republican is locked in a highly competitive race in a rural-heavy stretch in Wisconsin\u2019s 3rd District.<\/p>\n

However, the internal USDA taxpayer-funded account Trump is tapping for the payments doesn\u2019t actually have enough money in it right now to make the payments, meaning Congress will have to approve the new funds or the administration will have to take it from another program, according to three Trump officials who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.<\/p>\n

Marshall \u2014 who\u2019s facing a tougher-than-expected reelection campaign in deep-red territory \u2014 and Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) were among the Republicans who helped push for the $8 billion, according to the three Trump officials.<\/p>\n

Marshall requested the administration allocate money to assist farmers with spiked fuel costs in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoger Marshall is the leader who fought for that to happen,\u201d Trump said during the Monday rally.<\/p>\n

Spokespeople for Marshall and for Scott did not respond to requests for comment. <\/b>The White House referred Blue Light News to USDA\u2019s announcement<\/a> on the money.<\/p>\n

USDA spokesperson Harry Fones said in a statement that the aid package is Trump\u2019s \u201clatest action to deliver\u201d for farmers and the department is actively reviewing the data to determine payments.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision also comes after administration officials realized the president\u2019s previous step to make off-road dyed diesel<\/a> more widely available had limited benefits for farm country over other options, according to two of the Trump officials and another administration official involved in the matter. Top agriculture lobbyists further warned the dyed diesel plan could actually backfire on farmers<\/a>, because they could still be required to pay taxes on the product \u2014 just further down the road.<\/p>\n

So, Trump officials settled on the $8 billion tranche of direct money for farmers, given that similar kinds of payments to farmers \u2014 dating back during the president\u2019s first trade war in 2018 \u2014 have quelled enough farmer and rural voter anger to shore up necessary support for Republicans during election season.<\/p>\n

Trump officials and Republican operatives in the Midwest are banking on the money shoring up support again this cycle \u2014 especially for GOP voters who are angry but also don\u2019t want to vote for Democrats. Trump heads this Thursday to Iowa \u2014 where top Republicans have been worried about internal polling<\/a> that warned several weeks ago they could lose all three Iowa House races, key Senate races and other once-safe red seats across farm states.<\/p>\n

“It’s going to help bring farmers’ votes out,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told Blue Light News of Trump\u2019s plan on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“This is some way that the federal government can step in to help farmers for problems that they face through no fault of their own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Most Hill Republicans weren\u2019t given a heads-up about Trump\u2019s announcement, including appropriators, and many hadn\u2019t received any details from USDA as of Tuesday morning, according to two people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to share private details.<\/p>\n

Top agriculture groups have warned they\u2019d need at least $50 billion in direct aid this fall to make farmers whole following the impacts of tariffs, weather-related disasters and other high costs linked to the Iran war\u2019s chokehold on agricultural supplies. Farm-state Republicans are pushing to add at least $12 billion in direct farm aid payments to a separate year-end legislative package.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s aid rollout followed a number of other funding announcements made in swing rural districts. The White House doled out a first round of $12 billion<\/a> in bailout funds earlier this year for growers of top agricultural commodities who were hit hard by Trump\u2019s tariff agenda.<\/p>\n

Alongside Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins in Georgia, Rollins announced a $3.3 billion loan to build a power plant last week. Rollins rolled out $180 million in funding for seed research alongside vulnerable Iowa Reps. Zach Nunn and Marianette Miller-Meeks earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Trump also said he would approve long-derailed permanent year-round sales of ethanol during the Kansas rally \u2014 which would be a critical boon for corn growers across the Midwest. But the move has been long-stalled in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Roger Marshall in the Senate, we will make year-round E15 permanent. But if Adam Hamilton is in, I\u2019m not doing it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big deal for Kansas, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Shin contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"