Farm-state Senate Republicans and White House officials are discussing the possibility of attaching billions of dollars in aid for farmers hit by President Donald Trump’s tariffs to an Iran war funding package, ramping up a monthslong push from lawmakers as the administration tries to land a war funding package, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
GOP lawmakers, including Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman of Arkansas, are pushing to add $17.2 billion in farmer assistance to the potential package, according to four people involved in the talks who, like others in this report, were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
White House officials, however, privately said the amount of potential farm assistance would be closer to $10 billion if it is added to the war package, according to three other people involved in the conversations.
The pending request from key Senate Republicans is still under discussion as the administration presses Congress to approve hundreds of billions of dollars in new funding for the Iran war and other military spending across several legislative packages.
