John Thune was reelected Senate Republican leader and Jim Jordan took over as head of the House minority. With Democrats securing at least 54 Senate seats and 255 in the House, the agricultural and energy landscape is being reconfigured.
Republican leadership in the U.S. Congress is now set ahead of the 120th Congress that begins in January, in a context of divided government following the 2026 midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Republican of South Dakota), a member of the Agriculture Committee, was reelected Tuesday as head of the upper chamber's Republican caucus, while in the House of Representatives Rep. Jim Jordan (Republican of Ohio) was elected minority leader.
Thune's election by his colleagues came after calls from legislator Ron Johnson (Republican of Wisconsin) to postpone the vote so the party could analyze its sweeping defeats in last week's elections. "I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today, and I am honored to have their continued trust and support to lead the Senate Republican Conference," Thune said in a statement. "I'm proud of what this Republican team has accomplished together, and we remain united in our commitment to advancing conservative priorities, working with President Trump and our colleagues in the House, and holding the line against Democrats' efforts to enact their far-left, liberal agenda."
In the Senate, John Barrasso (Republican of Wyoming) was reelected whip. In the House, Jordan defeated current Majority Leader Steve Scalise (Republican of Louisiana), and Rep. Tom Emmer (Republican of Minnesota) was reelected Republican whip. "To our colleagues on the left, enjoy this honeymoon phase, because come January 3, 2027, you will regret ever putting your name on a ballot. House Republicans will hold each and every Democrat accountable for every vote passed, every committee hearing held," Emmer said.
Thune had previously sought a pathway to move the farm bill in the outgoing session. Democrats hold their leadership elections Wednesday, Nov. 18.
The power shift after the midterm elections redefines the outlook for farm and energy policy. As of Tuesday, Democrats were securing at least 54 Senate seats versus 44 for Republicans, with two races (Mississippi and Alaska) still not called; in the House, they would hold at least 255 seats versus 167, with 13 contests still to be determined.
The New Democrat Coalition, a center-left bloc made up of 114 House Democrats, expects to expand its ranks after last week's victories. "The New Democrat message this cycle has been an unrelenting focus on lowering costs. Affordability is obviously the buzzword," said John Lee, chief of staff to Rep. Nikki Budzinski (Democrat of Illinois). Lee added that "there's a way to walk and chew gum as opposed to just thinking that the next two years are going to be marathon oversight hearings."
For the farm sector, one of the central tasks will be presenting its priorities to incoming lawmakers. "How do we introduce agriculture, the priorities of agriculture in rural America to those new members of Congress that are coming in?" asked John Newton, vice president of public policy and economic analysis at the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The two leading contenders to head the House Agriculture Committee, Democrats Jim Costa (California) and Shontel Brown (Ohio), both belong to the New Democrat Coalition and have raised the need for greater accountability in farm policy. Costa, a member of the committee since 2005 and a third-generation farmer, and Brown, the current vice ranking member, pledge to hold USDA accountable for delivering adequate resources to producers and rural communities, as well as to address trade policy and the department's reorganization.
Costa highlights that California is the nation's top agricultural producing state, with close to 400 commodities, and defends food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). "The three farm reauthorizations that we successfully passed since I've been in Congress have always had nutrition as a primary part of the farm bill. It's the glue that has helped keep the bipartisanship together over decades," he said. "Food is a national security issue. I would be a part of an effort to bring people together in the next Congress to restore that partnership," he added. Among the groups backing his bid are the California Farm Bureau, the National Rural Housing Coalition, Western Growers Association and the RNG Coalition.
Brown, in Congress since 2021 and representing the Cleveland area, would be the first Black woman to chair the committee if elected. "Last week, the American people spoke loud and clear: they want lower costs and real accountability, and they gave us a record majority to deliver both," she said. "I want to help build an Agriculture Committee that reunites urban and rural America under a shared purpose, holds the Department of Agriculture accountable, and addresses the affordability crisis that stretches from the farm gate to the dinner plate." The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and other state groups backed her candidacy in a letter sent Tuesday to House Democratic leaders.
On the Senate Agriculture Committee, current Chairman John Boozman (Republican of Arkansas) is widely expected to be the top Republican next year. Some members anticipate that Sen. Michael Bennet (Democrat of Colorado) will chair the committee, though that may depend on the plans of Sen.-elect Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who regained a seat last week after his defeat two years ago.
On biofuels and other energy issues of interest to agriculture, divisions typically fall along geographic lines rather than party affiliation. "The new language of energy politics isn't about carbon; it's about electricity bills. It's about reliability. It's about who pays for data centers. Whoever owns the affordability issue kind of owns the debate at this point," said Scott Segal, a partner and co-head of Bracewell Policy Resolution Group.
An early test of the new political climate is the bipartisan Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), which would overhaul the federal permitting process across various sectors, particularly energy, and would seek to prevent consumers from paying for power grid improvements needed by artificial intelligence data centers. The measure advanced Monday to a full Senate floor vote despite opposition from Democrats such as Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Democrat of Illinois), who is demanding assurances that the Trump administration will advance stalled clean energy projects such as wind and solar. A vote could take place as soon as Wednesday; if approved, the text would still need to clear the House. "BAAJA was negotiated in a world where the prospects of Democrats controlling the Senate looked fundamentally different," said Joe Brazauskas, a partner at Bracewell.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat of Rhode Island), the top Democrat on the Environment Committee and a negotiator of the bill, called on Democrats to back the legislation. By contrast, Rep. Jared Huffman (Democrat of California), who is expected to lead the House Natural Resources Committee next year, contends that Trump's support for BAAJA is "a coup for his fossil fuel agenda" and "a head fake for Dems gullible enough to believe he will somehow start permitting renewables. Wake up!"
Separately, Huffman sent letters Monday to 36 federal agencies and private companies ordering them to preserve documents, communications and other records tied to the committee's investigations of the Trump administration; among the recipients are USDA, John Deere, Mosaic Co., Chevron and Energy Fuels.
Leadership uncertainty also extends to the Democrats: progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (independent of Vermont) said Tuesday that he does not support Schumer to lead the Senate next year, and some House members are calling for a speaker other than current Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
