Senate Ag approves Grain Standards Act, three nominees

The Senate Agriculture Committee late Monday held a business meeting to consider H.R. 4550, United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2025, and President Trump’s nominations of Mindy Brashears of Texas, to be agriculture undersecretary of food safety; former Republican Rep. Stella Yvette Herrell of New Mexico, to be agriculture assistant secretary for congressional relations; and John Walk of Virginia to be USDA inspector general. 

The vote on the Grain Standards Act was unanimous, 23 by roll call vote. 

After the vote, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said the whole Senate will have to take up the grain standards bill and the House, which has already passed a version of it, will have to vote again because the Senate amended it.

The vote on Brashears and Walk was 12 to 11, with all Democrats voting no. 

The vote on Herrell was 13 to 10, with Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., joining the Republicans in voting for the resident of his state.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said she was voting against all three nominees because her “concerns are much deeper” than the qualifications of the nominees.

A Boozman spokeswoman noted that Walk also has to be approved by the Senate Homeland Security Committee

Boozman said he hopes the full Senate will vote on the nominees before the end of November.

In other comments, Boozman told reporters that he considers President Trump’s trade deal with China “a great step in the right direction” for American farmers and the deals with other Asian countries good for those countries that do not want to align themselves so closely with China.

But Boozman said he believes American farmers will still need emergency aid this fall, and that the Agriculture Department should take the lead on that aid.

Asked if he could explain the Government Executive report that USDA has moved $13 billion from the Commodity Credit Corporation to a fund to aid farmers, Boozman said he could not.