{"id":2641447,"date":"2026-08-06T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T19:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-absence-foils-gop-plans-to-advance-farm-bill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T15:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T19:22:26","slug":"mcconnell-absence-foils-gop-plans-to-advance-farm-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcconnell-absence-foils-gop-plans-to-advance-farm-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"McConnell absence foils GOP plans to advance farm bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmcconnell-absence-foils-gop-plans-to-advance-farm-bill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2641447&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Senate Agriculture Commitee&#8217;s attempt to pass the farm bill was unsuccessful due to the absence of Senator Mitch McConnell and unanimous opposition from Democrats. Chairman john Boozman aimed to send the legislation, which covers agriculture and food assistance, to the Senate floor before the August recess, but the vote was hindered mainly by disagreements over food stamp provisions and changes Republicans made to them last year. Boozman offered a one-year delay on certain language, but Democrats demanded a two-year delay; this impasse, along with McConnell\u2019s recovery from a fall, resulted in the bill&#8217;s failure. Without McConnell and Senator Tommy Tuberville\u2019s votes (who was absent at the time), the bill was defeated, marking a setback for bipartisan efforts. The prospects for passing the bill this year are slim given the limited time before the November elections and the upcoming lame duck session. The legislation also includes a provision for the year-round sale of 15% ethanol in gasoline, which is contentious among diffrent interest groups. Boozman indicated that passing the bill in the remaining legislative period is highly unlikely, and both parties are uncertain about <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >future negotiations amid changing political dynamics<\/a>. Simultaneously occurring, the Senate continues to face challenges related to McConnell\u2019s absence, impacting both legislative efforts and the confirmation of judicial and administrative appointments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A vote on the farm bill failed in the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday due to the prolonged absence of Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mitch-mcconnell\/\">Mitch McConnell<\/a> (R-KY) and unified opposition from Democrats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-boozman\/\">John Boozman<\/a> (R-AR), the committee chairman, had hoped to send the legislation, a sweeping bill addressing agriculture and food assistance programs, to the Senate floor before lawmakers departed for the August recess.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4677982\/mcconnell-absence-gop-farm-bill-august-recess\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>McConnell absence foils GOP plans to advance farm bill before August recess<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4677294\/watch-live-senate-panel-votes-holding-fauci-contempt-refusing-answer-questions\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Senate panel votes on holding Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4675757\/ted-cruz-abdul-el-sayed-zohran-mamdani-toxic-stew-communism-islamism\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ted Cruz: El Sayed and Mamdani embody \u2018toxic stew\u2019 of communism and Islamism<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the vote was all but doomed to fail because of an impasse on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/snap\/\">food stamps<\/a>, and how Republicans changed it as part of their party-line tax law last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boozman offered to delay, for a year, language that would force states to shoulder more of the program\u2019s costs. Democrats called that offer inadequate and reiterated their demand Thursday that Republicans agree to a two-year delay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without McConnell, who has been recovering from a fall he suffered in June, the vote failed. Neither his nor Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2019s (R-AL) \u201cproxy\u201d vote counted, while all 11 Democrats opposed the bill, marking a major setback for what is ordinarily a bipartisan piece of legislation. Tuberville was not present at the hearing when the final vote was called.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4669677\/fetterman-andy-beshear-mcconnell-health\/\"><strong>FETTERMAN SAYS BESHEAR TRYING TO PUT HIS \u2018NAME IN THE NEWS\u2019 WITH MCCONNELL HEALTH SCRUTINY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two sides can still regroup when the Senate reconvenes in September, and Boozman left the committee meeting in recess indefinitely so he could bring members back then.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the outcome significantly decreases the odds of reaching a deal on the farm bill this year. Boozman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on Wednesday that the brief sprint before the November elections was likely not enough time to hold another vote and then get a compromise through the House and Senate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The legislation includes a provision establishing the year-round sale of 15% ethanol in gasoline, which is supported by senators in corn-producing states but opposed by traditional oil producers such as Texas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think it would be very, very difficult to get done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boozman also appeared skeptical about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chuck-schumer-cancels-october-votes-sends-senate-home-until-november-14\/\" title=\"Chuck Schumer Cancels October ..., Sends ... Home Until November 14\">lame duck period<\/a> between Nov. 3 and the end of the current Congress, when both parties could be preparing for a change in power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho knows what\u2019s going to happen then?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans released further changes to the bill within hours of the Thursday markup and were holding out hope that Democrats, many of whom represent agriculture-heavy states, would back off their red line. Boozman opened the meeting, insisting the one-year delay on food stamp changes was their \u201cbest\u201d and \u201cfinal\u201d offer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4675099\/susan-collins-oppose-todd-blanche-nomination-attorney-general\/\"><strong>SUSAN COLLINS TO OPPOSE TODD BLANCHE NOMINATION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One Democrat on the committee, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), called the meeting \u201cKabuki theater\u201d and questioned why it had been convened without a bipartisan agreement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The absence of McConnell, 84, from the Senate has been a repeated bottleneck for Senate Republicans and is also complicating the confirmation of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"20883\">Todd Blanche<\/a>, President Donald Trump\u2019s choice for attorney general. In a party-line vote, Republicans can only stand to lose two of their members on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Farm bill vote fails amid McConnell&#8217;s absence and Dem opposition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2651,"featured_media":2641448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26064767236103-e1786038272675.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[39509,6203,53089],"class_list":["post-2641447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-farm-bill","tag-gop","tag-mcconnell-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26064767236103-e1786038272675.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2651"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2641447"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2641451,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641447\/revisions\/2641451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2641448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2641447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2641447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2641447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}