Senate Deal Would Restore Federal Jobs Lost in Shutdown
Negotiators agree to undo thousands of layoffs ordered under Trump administration’s reduction-in-force directives; text of USDA appropriations released; USDA’s CCC gets funding replenishment

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The Senate’s emerging funding package to reopen the government is expected to reverse the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.

The reduction-in-force orders issued since the shutdown began led to the dismissal of thousands of federal employees. Senate Democrats sought to include a permanent ban on future firings, but the White House rejected the proposal, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said during a party lunch Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to bring the combined “minibus” package and a continuing resolution through Jan. 30 to the floor this evening, pending a procedural motion. Without unanimous consent, final passage could stretch into late next week, after which the House would also need to vote on the package.

Senate appropriators have begun unveiling portions of a three-bill spending package aimed at reopening the government after 40 days of shutdown. The Military Construction–Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) bill has already been released.

The Agriculture measure was released with key links below: 

Note: The following links initially worked then were pulled back; the summary detailed below could change. 

Link to bill text

Link to Joint Explanatory Statement

Link to bill summary

Of note: 

FY26 Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA Appropriations Bill – Majority Summary
Senate Appropriations Committee outlines $26.65 billion package prioritizing rural support, food safety, and fiscal restraint

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill provides $26.65 billion in discretionary funding, advancing with broad bipartisan support (87–9 Senate vote). The measure focuses on safeguarding the nation’s food supply, supporting farmers and ranchers, strengthening rural infrastructure, and maintaining nutrition assistance for low-income families—while achieving over $415 million in administrative savings by trimming workforce accounts across USDA and FDA

Key Highlights

• Agricultural Research – $3.8 billion: Supports ARS and NIFA programs, fully funds the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, and scales back funding for “Biden-era” Climate Hubs. 
• Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service – $1.2 billion: Adds $13.5 million for EID tags and bolsters defenses against chronic wasting disease, screwworm, and avian influenza.
• Agricultural Marketing Service – $211 million: Continues the Cattle Contract Library Pilot and enforces the Packers and Stockyards Act
• Farm Service Agency – $1.4 billion: Backs $10 billion in farm loans, enhances tracking of foreign-owned land, and keeps FSA county offices open. 
• Conservation – $850 million: Targets working-lands programs and rural watershed projects, trims urban ag initiatives
• Rural Development – $4.1 billion: Funds rural housing, broadband ($109 million), and water infrastructure ($1.4 billion), while cutting the Rural Partners Network initiative. 
• Nutrition: Allocates $8.2 billion for WIC, $107 billion for SNAP, and $37.8 billion for Child Nutrition; reimburses shutdown contingency reserves. 
• International Food Assistance – $1.44 billion: Maintains Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs and calls for a report on possible transfer of Food for Peace to USDA
• FDA Funding – $7 billion: Boosts food and drug safety, expands oversight of e-cigarette imports and cosmetics, and continues the ban on heritable gene editing. 
• Hemp Products Ban: Bars sale of intoxicating hemp derivatives (e.g., Delta-8) in unregulated settings while preserving CBD and industrial hemp products. 

Overall, the FY 2026 measure underscores congressional intent to couple rural investment and agricultural competitiveness with tighter fiscal discipline and heightened oversight of emerging food, drug, and hemp-related markets.