House appropriators press USDA on trade aid package

House Appropriations Committee members on Tuesday grilled the Agriculture Department’s inspector general over the Trump administration’s bailout fund for farmers hurt by trade tensions, singling out payments to a Brazilian meatpacker for scrutiny. The Trump administration has allocated $28 billion over two years to farmers hit by retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and other countries in response to U.S. trade actions. At a hearing of the appropriations agriculture subcommittee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) asked USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong about...