agriculture

Both chambers of Congress will have abbreviated schedules this coming week, largely due to Rosh Hashanah, which begins in the evening on Sept. 9 and ends on the evening on Tuesday, Sept. 11. 

On Monday and Tuesday, no votes are expected in either chamber. 

Donald Trump will return to Montana on Thursday night for another political rally aimed at ousting incumbent Democrat Jon Tester, part of the president’s midterm focus on keeping the Senate under Republican control.

White House and Trump campaign officials have signaled Trump will hit as many as eight states this month alone before picking up the pace in October as the midterm campaign enters its final sprint. Trump will continue to publicly stump for Republican Senate and gubernatorial incumbents and candidates, while Vice President Mike Pence primarily focuses on competitive House races.

Most of the cameras will be focused on President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, but he’s far from the only attraction this week on Capitol Hill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s week of confirmation hearings with Judge Brett Kavanaugh and outside witnesses kicks off Tuesday morning, but House members are arriving back in Washington, D.C., this week after more than a month back in their districts.

The Trump administration’s trade talks with Canada stalled Friday without a pact, but the White House told Congress it still intends to include America’s northern neighbor in a preliminary U.S.-Mexico deal. Lawmakers have been firm the White House should only send them a three-way agreement.

President Donald Trump intends to finalize a deal with Mexico “and Canada, if it is willing” in 90 days, a senior administration official said Friday. “With respect to Canada … we believe we made progress. We continue to work toward an agreement.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated Rep. Ron DeSantis capturing the Florida GOP gubernatorial nomination, and labeled his Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum a “a failed Socialist Mayor.”

Trump backed the conservative congressman over former Rep. Adam Putnam, the state’s agriculture commissioner, in a move that irked some Republican Party officials. But with 91 percent of precincts reporting, DeSantis was up by a wide margin, 56 percent to 37 percent, according to The Associated Press.

Updated 1:24 p.m. | President Donald Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with Mexico aimed at revamping parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Canadian officials still must sign off on the pact.

The president hailed the preliminary pact as a “big deal” in a Monday morning tweet, but — at least for now — it does not include Canada. Trump said during an Oval Office announcement that the new pact would not be called NAFTA.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell outlined an aggressive September calendar Tuesday, though he conceded it probably won’t include debate on a new round of Russia sanctions.

“September’s pretty crowded already. I’m personally very interested in a Russia sanctions bill,” the Kentucky Republican said Tuesday. “I hope there can be a bipartisan coming together with something we can pass.”

Funeral services for Leonard Boswell, a livestock farmer and Vietnam veteran who served for 16 years in the House, will be held Saturday in his native Iowa, according to local media reports. 

Boswell died August 17 at a Des Moines hospital after suffering complications from a rare form of cancer, according to media reports. He was 84. 

Donald Trump is taking a victory lap after Tuesday’s congressional and gubernatorial elections, but the president’s football-spiking might be premature.

Trump first tweeted Wednesday morning that Republicans went “5 for 5!” In another tweet about 45 minutes later, the president declared GOP candidates “have now won 8 out of 9 House Seats” that have been up for grabs since he took office. He also slammed the “Fake News Media,” contending its coverage would make “you would think we are being clobbered.”

President Donald Trump on Monday again falsely stated that the California government is diverting river water into the Pacific Ocean that could be used to fight forest fires, but he also signaled he will fast-track federal help.

For the second consecutive day, the president took to Twitter to contend Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is sending water from “the North” into the Pacific Ocean. Trump contended Monday that water could be used for “fires, farming and everything else.”