The Agriculture Department moved $13 billion from an account designed to support farmers into another designed to provide emergency relief from President Trump’s tariffs, but the funding is now largely sitting in limbo without any immediate function.
The transfer has raised some concerns on Capitol Hill as USDA did not notify lawmakers of the funding shift, over the objections of career staff who said such an alert was required. The move has also drawn attention as some key programs to aid farmers—which would otherwise have operated normally despite the government shutdown—no longer have sufficient funds to continue.
USDA transferred the $13 billion from its Commodities Credit Corporation—a New Deal-era initiative that funds the purchasing of and aid toward U.S. agricultural products—to the Office of the Secretary, according to internal emails obtained by Government Executive, public spending data and individuals privy to the decision making. The money was sent to create a mandatory “Farmers Support Program,” according to documents marking the transfer, though an employee familiar with the matter said the tariff relief effort was not yet ready for actual deployment.
Trump established such a farmer aid program in response to trade disputes with China and other nations in his first term aimed at mitigating the fallout for American farmers. Groups representing farmers have called for immediate payments to their members to offset losses resulting from Trump’s trade policies and other market factors.
“Across the country, farms are disappearing as families close the gates on the farms tended by their parents, grandparents and generations before them,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall wrote in a recent letter to Trump asking for bridge payments to farmers before the end of the year. “These payments must be robust enough to address sector-wide gaps and provide meaningful support as the federal government works to recalibrate trade strategies, stabilize prices, and strengthen key market relationships.”
While the payments appear a ways away and the funding sits dormant, the transfer is having immediate impacts. Programs authorized by the most recent Farm Bill and funded through CCC are currently being deprioritized as a result of the shifted funds, according to internal communications and an employee familiar with the situation.
The Conservation Reserve Program—which aids farmers in converting erodible land—and the Dairy Margin Coverage program—which helps dairy farmers protect against declines in milk prices—are currently being placed on the backburner. Market Assistance Loans for producers of certain commodities could also be at risk. Additional programs at other USDA agencies funded in part through CCC are also not operating at full capacity due to shortfalls within that account.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Trump is “taking so much money” from the CCC funds that it has “threatened core farm programs.”
“Billions of dollars are sitting in a slush fund in the secretary’s office—presumably so that this administration can eventually offer some short-term and uneven compensation to farmers whose businesses and livelihoods have been destroyed by President Trump’s reckless tariffs,” Murray said.
A department spokesperson declined to say what the transferred money was for, but said Trump was “the most pro-farmer president of our lifetime.”
“Currently, the farm economy is in a difficult situation, and President Trump is utilizing all the tools available to ensure farmers have what they need to continue their farming operations for generations to come,” the spokesperson said. “The department will continue to assess the farm economy and explore the need for further assistance, however, there is nothing new to share on that front at this time.”
Only around $10 billion of the original transfer is still sitting within the Office of the Secretary. USDA clawed back $3 billion to call some Farm Service Agency employees back from shutdown furloughs and reopen some offices during the shutdown, according to internal emails obtained by Government Executive. That funding is focused on keeping Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, which help offset price declines in certain agricultural products, operational. It is also supporting disaster payments. Those programs could also run out funds in November, however, one employee aware of the situation said.
The clawing back of funds, which was initially set at $6 billion but later reduced to $3 billion, was approved by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, the internal emails show.
Normally, such a transfer would require a heads up to the relevant committees in Congress. That notification never occurred, according to the employee and a congressional source, who said the move should have been flagged by the department. Career staff warned in a meeting that a failure to provide such notice would draw questions from congressional offices and potentially an audit from the Government Accountability Office, but political appointees responded that they “didn’t care,” a career employee said.
Murray noted that USDA has been “forced to send some” of the transferred money back due to the impacts on farm programs. The fallout is having an exacerbated impact as the Trump administration has declined to tap into a contingency fund that could keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program operational as the shutdown drags into November, she said, noting USDA has “simultaneously raided a different pot of money.”
“Forcing kids and seniors to starve and ripping the rug out from farmers is no way to run the government—but it’s precisely how President Trump is doing it,” Murray said.
The transfer ultimately amounted to one-third of CCC’s $30 billion borrowing authority, which has not been replenished during the shutdown.
