The 2026 campaign calendar kicked off in earnest in the State of Texas, which is lining up to be one of the more interesting Senate campaigns this cycle. James Talarico secured the Democratic nomination for Senate, and the endorsement of his primary opponent after the loss. Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton each secured enough support to advance to a runoff. Additionally, two incumbent house members saw their Congressional careers end as well, one due to a growing scandal, and the other to a well-financed primary opponent.

Coming on the heels of testimony before two Congressional Committees, President Trump announced that he would be naming US Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who has been named the Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, a newly created post for a Western Hemisphere security coalition. Senator Mullin has a demonstrated history of support for agriculture, and specifically for making the H-2A program work better for program users.

After more than 20 hours of often contentious debate, the House Agriculture Committee overwhelmingly passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (aka Farm Bill 2.0) by a margin of 34-17. Of note for NCAE members, is $30 million included in annual funding for the Specialty Crop Mechanization and Automation Research and Extension Initiative. Following passage of the legislation, Chairman GT Thompson has indicated he will move to introduce agricultural labor reform legislation now that they have completed their process.

In NCAE news, our Chairman Joel Anderson, Treasurer Jamie Fussell and I, met with DOL officials to discuss ways to improve the current H-2A program given increasing need for workers and increased demands on program applicants to obtain their workers. This is part of a broader engagement strategy across the administration to ensure there is an interagency dialogue on how to ensure President Trump’s signature agricultural regulatory relief actually gets realized by American agriculture. The administration has been appreciative of our efforts to help find ways to improve the program. And as we have indicated before, they welcome any and all data to help inform their process which is why we continue to make those requests of you. Any and all help you can provide, will hopefully speed efforts to make further improvements.

Next week in Congress is expected to be relatively quiet with the House of Representatives on recess. This despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies including TSA and the Coast Guard remain unfunded.

The FMCSA Final Rule has been released and will go into effect on March 16, 2026. The rule makes H-2A, H-2B and E-2 visa holders eligible for CDLs, IF the individual state chooses to issue them. FMCSA will not encourage states to resume, or not resume, issuing CDLs. 

This Rule comes on the heels of a nationwide audit that paused the issuance of all non-domicile CDLs and led to an audit that found some 25 states out of compliance for various reasons, and to varying degrees. 

All states issuing non-domicile visas have taken the initial step to comply with the audit, but each state is at a different stage in the process to correct their process and submit their program for approval. The FMCSA staff were very clear that there is no “magic template” for states to share, because each state’s laws interact differently with the FMCSA standard. They only said (to our frustration), state programs must be in compliance with the federal regulation.  

When states submit their plans, FMCSA has promised a quick turnaround of as short as 48 hours to get the CDL program back up and running. It should be noted that some states have NEVER issued CDLs to non-domiciles and that some states are choosing not to going forward for various reasons.

What Can You Do? Contact your state officials and demand they take required corrective actions so they can be approved by the FMCSA to begin issuing CDLs again. 

As the decision to move forward to correct existing state CDL programs and begin reissuing CDLs lies with each state, lobbying efforts need to be directed to individual state governments and their Departments’ of Motor Vehicles. NCAE is ready to support individual efforts across the country, and will assist in expediting state applications when we are made aware. Thank you to those who have kept us informed to date. 

Information on Status of CDL Issuing Authority 

States Approved: 

Iowa, Rhode Island, South Dakota States Not Seeking Reapproval: Michigan States Historically Not Issuing CDLS: Alabama, Kentucky, West Virginia (Not a publicly available list)

A hearing for a second motion for Preliminary Injunction filed by Lynn-Ette & Sons Inc., Porpiglia Farms, Inc, A & J Kirby Farms, LLC was held on Thursday, March 5. The Court requested further briefing from the parties not to exceed 25 pages: Simultaneous Briefs are due on April 6, 2026 and Responses are due May 4, 2026 after which time we hope the Court will rule.

• Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) was defeated in his primary reelection bid.
• Representatives Burgess Owens (R-UT), Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Tony Gonzalez (R-TX)announced they were ending their reelection bids and retiring from Congress at the end of the year.

Senate

• Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) announced he was ending his reelection bid and retiring at the end of the year.
• Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-MT) has been nominated to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security.

Ag Leaders Applaud Committee Passage of Farm Bill 2.0, Urge Congress to ‘Keep the Momentum Going’

Montana livestock ranchers say foreign workers are needed due to labor shortages

Department of Labor Triggers Harvest Alert As 2026 H-2A Visa Shortages Force Midwest Farms to Deploy AI Drone Swarms

Emails show Trump’s labor department struggling to deliver on H-2A ‘one-stop shop’ promise

The migrant labor behind Vermont’s dairy industry

National Potato Council and Spudman Unveil Spud Sector Survey

Trump’s immigration surges in Midwest cities correlate with less employment, researchers find

Migrant Farmworkers Speak Out on ICE Raids

An Albemarle County farm joined over 100 others in a multimillion project to study how to stabilize farm labor — then the USDA cut research funding

Ag survey shows ICE activity indirectly cut farm labor supply

Dairy’s Last Shot: Why Industry Leaders Are Demanding Action on Immigration Reform

McBride hosts inaugural ag summit

DOL Proposes New Rule for Worker Classification—What Employers Need to Know

Without federal mandate, E-Verify would put Idaho at a disadvantage

ICE crackdown, especially fear of raids, triggered CA farmworker losses, survey shows

Trump called for CDL restrictions during his SOTU. Indiana may be the first to crack down

The Squeeze on American Farmers Demands Better Tech, Stronger Collaboration

Sheep producers from around the nation flock to D.C. for lobbying push

Is President Trump Really to Blame for High Grocery Prices?

New year, new fear: Wisconsin’s migrant farm workers have long had access to legal and other help. But they may now be less inclined to ask for it