HOUSE LEADERSHIP SCRAMBLE: McCarthy's bid for House speaker appears on shakier ground than ever as the new Congress begins. The fallout could have big implications for committees like House Ag, as panel leadership slots are still in limbo amid the speakership debacle. The GOP leader can only lose four votes from his party's majority to secure his yearslong quest for the gavel. He will need 218 votes to secure it if all members are present today when votes are held. By the numbers: Nine skeptical Republicans penned a letter after a Sunday night phone call where McCarthy gave in to one of their key demands to lower the threshold to trigger a vote to oust the Speaker, saying he didn't go far enough. In addition, five Republicans have pitched tents in the "Never Kevin" camp. That coalition could be enough to sink him on its own if it holds together. The fallout: A leadership battle in the House doesn't help the farm bill, as it'll keep the Ag Committee's composition up in the air until it is resolved. Subcommittee shuffle?: House committee and subcommittee leadership roles aren't yet final amid the jockeying over who will be the House speaker. A House GOP leadership committee approved Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) to chair the House Ag Committee, but the full House Republican caucus still needs to vote on committee posts to make it official. It's noteworthy that Thompson is holding a listening session this Saturday in Harrisburg, Pa. amid the delays. One possible move: Subcommittee chairmanships are the most fluid. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who was the House Ag nutrition subcommittee ranking member last Congress, is eyeing a possible subcommittee post on the Armed Services Committee, according to two people. That could leave open the House Ag nutrition subcommittee chair post — which is traditionally tricky for GOP leaders to fill. It will be a key role to watch as Republicans aim to make nutrition reforms a key plank of their farm bill priorities. MEET THE NEW MAJORITY: Amid the uncertainty, MA caught up with House Ag member Rick Crawford for a look at his farm bill priorities as part of our series of conversations with Republican members on the panel as they prepare to be in the majority. PLC updates: Crawford said one of his prime priorities for the upcoming farm bill talks, which will start this month in the House and heat up in the coming months across Capitol Hill, is to update the Price Loss Coverage program that acts as part of the farm safety net. The big problem according to Crawford: it's still operating under 2012 data and wasn't designed to account for inflation. "We started a new policy sort of behind the eight ball with regard to production cost," Crawford said. "We have to bring that baseline into 2023 and then index that for the future of the farm bill. And you know, that's a fairly heavy lift." "But when farmers are looking at record input costs, that has to be considered in order to be reflective of the economic demands that they're facing today versus 2012," Crawford said. Nutrition work requirements: Crawford reiterated that House Republicans will likely focus their push to reform federal food assistance programs around efforts to beef up work requirements for able-bodied, working-age adults, while winding down pandemic-era emergency assistance. "The reality is we were doing everything we could during the Covid period, but we now have emerged from that. We need to now tighten up," Crawford said. "Even the president said the pandemic was over." Coming GOP probes: Crawford also said he expects House Ag Republicans to make increasing oversight of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other nutrition programs a general priority in the next Congress. Thompson, who is poised to chair the House Ag Committee, has suggested he'll quickly launch probes into the Biden administration's expansion of food assistance programs during the pandemic, along with the Agriculture Department's rollout of climate-ag program funding. ICYMI FROM THE HOLIDAYS: Some major ag topics look significantly different now that it's 2023. We've got you covered. WOTUS rule: The Biden administration finalized its rendition of a rule to overhaul what are "Waters of the United States" to receive protection under the Clean Water Act, our Annie Snider reports. Major ag groups aren't happy about it. The rule: — Allows for streams and wetlands that meet either the "significant nexus" test former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy created in Rapanos v. United States or the conservative majority's "relatively permanent" standard to fall under the scope of the law. — Reverses the Trump administration's vast retraction of authority over "ephemeral" streams that flow only in response to precipitation. — Restores protections to millions of acres of wetlands that fell outside of federal jurisdiction under the Trump rule, both because of the change to ephemeral streams and because of changes in which wetlands get protected. — Expands a set of categorical exclusions from those the agency initially proposed, including for wetlands that were converted to cropland before 1985, ditches carved wholly in dry land that don't carry relatively permanent flow, and artificial lakes and ponds. Ag groups lamented the rule, as did congressional Republicans. Incoming House Ag Chair Thompson called it "an egregious government land grab." National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney called it a "federal overreach" that "ignores the voices of nearly all in American agriculture who have long been seeking clarity on this issue." But, but, but: The rule could be short-lived, pending what the Supreme Court decides in its current case over WOTUS, Sackett v. EPA. Alexis Taylor was sworn in: Taylor was sworn in last week to serve in the top trade post at the USDA. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack said Taylor is "the right person to lead as we continue to address global food security challenges, promote American exports across the globe, and strengthen trade relationships with our global partners." In the final hours of the 117th Congress, the Senate also confirmed Doug McKalip to be the chief agricultural negotiator at USTR and Jose Emilio Esteban to be undersecretary of food safety at USDA. It came down to last-minute, behind the scenes jockeying among senators, Meredith reports. FARM BILL MOVES: Thompson's upcoming farm bill listening session will be bipartisan. Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) will attend the first Republican-led farm bill listening session of 2023, along with a list of Republicans. Newly-elected Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who is seeking a House Ag Committee appointment, will also attend.
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