SENATE AG TO VOTE ON HISTORIC NOMINATION: The Senate Agriculture Committee is slated this afternoon to vote on the nomination of Jewel Bronaugh to be deputy secretary of Agriculture, setting up a vote in the full Senate. If confirmed, Bronaugh will be the first Black woman and first woman of color to hold the position since the department was founded in 1862. Bronaugh has had a slow-moving yet smooth confirmation process. During her hearing in April, she was praised by both Democrats and Republicans. Although lawmakers pressed her on the idea of carbon banks and improving outreach for historically underserved producers like farmers of color, she faced few pointed questions. Bronaugh was appointed the 16th Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2018 by Gov. Ralph Northam. She previously served as the Virginia State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency, appointed by former Gov.r Terry McAuliffe and then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in July 2015. Bronaugh received her Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education from Virginia Tech. Others in the wings: USDA has several would-be leaders awaiting confirmation, including Robert Bonnie, Biden's choice for undersecretary for farm production and conservation programs, and Jennifer Moffitt, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs — although both were nominated only recently. Janie Hipp, Biden's pick for USDA general counsel, was nominated in March. Biden has yet to name several other undersecretaries. NAVIGATING DIFFICULT WATERS: The Biden administration is facing renewed pressure from environmental groups to increase protections America's wetlands, streams and other waterways by reviving the so-called WOTUS rule, which was criticized as federal overreach and economically harmful to agriculture and industry. At issue is the rewrite of the Waters of the U.S. rule under former President Donald Trump that drastically reduced the scope of waters protected by the federal government under the Obama-era interpretations of the Clean Waters Act. The Trump EPA move angered greens, and President Joe Biden's EPA is vowing to take up the water rules with an eye to strengthen environmental protections. EPA is undergoing a review process to determine the best course of action. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said a new plan would reverse course from the Trump era, but also wouldn't be a verbatim reimplementation of Obama administration. Neither of those options, Regan told lawmakers, reflects "the will of the people." Agricultural groups broadly backed Regan's nomination because of his history of engaging with the industry while serving as North Carolina's top environmental regulator, and are reserving judgment. Key opponents of the WOTUS rule say they are hopeful about his promises to reach out to them, although they, too, are trying to figure out how much the administration is willing to invest in tackling the politically combustible issue. But environmentalists are pushing courts to unfreeze their lawsuits against the Trump-era rule, which the Biden administration requested to hold as it conducts its review. It's a political minefield, with conflicting interests between greens and the agriculture, construction and mining industries. And none of Biden's EPA appointees or nominees so far have had significant experience in the battle. Pro's Annie Snider goes into the competing forces and ticking clock over the administration's handling of U.S. waterways. PROGRESSIVES PUSH FOR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS: Even as President Joe Biden is urging Congress to use his latest proposals as an opportunity to expand some food aid and school lunch programs, progressives say it's time to make school meals free for everyone, report Helena Bottemiller Evich and yours truly . Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation in their respective chambers on Friday that would make breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks free to all school children without means testing. Money on the mind: The bills don't allocate any specific funding and have not received a score from the Congressional Budget Office. School meals cost about $19 billion in 2019, when they were not universally without cost to students. It's unclear how many of the nation's 50 million public school children would participate in school breakfast and lunch if they were free. Republicans, including Senate Agriculture ranking member Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, have criticized the potential costs of such an expansion. But Omar told POLITICO the need for providing meals is too great to be concerned about the cost, though she expects it won't break the bank. "When you make programs universal, you get rid of a lot of administrative costs," Omar said. What's next: Proponents of the bill say the goal is to introduce the measure now to push efforts to go further in the next reconciliation package. But they are not ruling out other options, such with a stand-alone bill or child nutrition reauthorization. | 
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