Myth of the Week: Are farmers better off with Wittman?
He's enabling and voting for the chaos that makes their work difficult or impossible.
Welcome to Myth of the Week, where we address some of the most-repeated myths about Rob Wittman’s work as our VA-01 Congressional representative.
MYTH:
Farmers are better off with Wittman.
REALITY:
Wittman’s votes create chaos and risks for farmers.
Farmers are the lifeblood of VA-01, but economic pressures over the past year have been squeezing them dry. Is their way of life on the brink of extinction in our district?
Congressman Rob Wittman claims he has “consistently supported efforts to put more money back in the pockets of Virginians.” That doesn’t seem to be working for Virginia’s farmers, as rural residents of VA-01 fight to make ends meet and describe themselves as “just struggling and doing whatever we can…to survive.”
Farmers across America have been experiencing tough times for years, only to suffer even more under Trump’s chaotic federal policies, which Wittman unhesitatingly votes to support. And there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Trump administration routinely produces instability and uncertainty for farmers and rural communities. While tariffs and rising healthcare costs are the primary sources of turbulence for farmers, the sources of chaos for farmers are everywhere in Wittman’s votes:
Shrinking export markets as America’s relationships are damaged and retaliatory boycotts ensue, making prices drop
Dismantling of federal agencies that once bought over $5 billion from US farmers, and unpredictable federal aid relief for farmers
Sinking dollar exchange rates
Continuing inflation and increasing costs of supplies and materials
Spiraling business and weather insurance costs
Intimidation and reduction of the migrant workforce farmers rely on
Attacks on federal economic guardrails and institutions, such as the Federal Reserve, that create instability across the whole economy
Farmers are wondering if it’s worth staying in business as the federal government is weaponized against them in President Trump’s manufactured trade wars.
To see what Wittman has done to help farmers overcome the challenges, we looked at the biggest sources of chaos: tariffs and healthcare costs.
Tariff terrors threaten to sink farms
Agriculture is Virginia’s top industry, employing about 300,000 people. In VA-01, soybeans and grains are among the most-farmed crops. That makes VA-01 particularly vulnerable to chaotic economic and international trade policies. Trump’s tariffs have devastated once-healthy agricultural profits, transforming them into steep losses almost overnight.
Vague promises of federal subsidies can’t compensate for an unpredictable market, and farmers are skeptical of federal assurances of financial relief in the form of bridge payments that materialize too late or not at all. (And even if the payments appear, input costs will rise in response, reducing the effectiveness of those same payments!) At this point, many VA-01 farmers may have no choice but to liquidate their assets.
Wittman has failed to act to keep farmers from drowning. In 2025, some Congressional Republicans introduced or supported bills that would have provided relief for farmers in VA-01 by ending tariffs and/or requiring their explicit approval by Congress. Wittman was not among them.
Healthcare cuts hit farmers hard
Farming is extremely dangerous work by any measure. Farmers die at a rate of seven times the national average. They die by suicide at about twice the rate of the general population. They sustain injuries from toxic chemicals, exposure to the elements, and heavy machinery accidents, all of which result in steep costs from lost work in addition to medical expenses. Farmers’ very lives and livelihoods depend on having affordable, comprehensive health insurance.
27% of the agricultural workforce relies on the Affordable Care Act for health insurance, but then Wittman broke the ACA. Now those same agricultural workers are overwhelmed by crippling medical debt and skyrocketing premiums that, in some cases, have quadrupled.
H. R. 1 also dictates that Marketplace enrollees must pay back health care subsidies at tax time if their farms do sufficiently well during the year. This places farmers in an impossible bind, forcing them to choose between a profitable farm business and essential healthcare subsidies.
Farmers need and deserve a representative who ensures access to reliable, affordable healthcare so they can focus their energy on their business instead of worrying about how they’re going to pay for their expensive premiums. Instead of ensuring stability, Wittman stirs the chaos pot. His H. R. 1 vote slashed Medicaid and increased health insurance costs, creating an untenable situation for rural hospitals and clinics — which stand to lose billions of dollars annually and could be forced to close — while simultaneously swelling the ranks of uninsured patients. Wittman knew multiple rural health facilities would be at risk of closing from Medicaid cuts, yet he still voted for H. R. 1.
Wittman also did not object to Trump’s illegal five-state funding freeze of childcare subsidies and family assistance funds in Democratic-run states. Now that Virginia has elected a Democratic governor, it’s not a stretch to expect that Virginia could be next.
A farming bust would lead to catastrophic job losses, closure of rural hospitals, and slashed social services, making it difficult or impossible for farmers and rural residents to survive tough times. Unfortunately for those farmers, Wittman is in no hurry to mitigate or in any way address the damage caused by his votes on healthcare bills.
Wittman’s “Farmageddon” is upon us
Wittman says, “Our nation’s farmers work tirelessly to keep the world fueled and fed.” But his words ring hollow. Instead he turns his back on farmers again and again as they are relentlessly pummeled by tariffs; the end of USAID; shrinking earnings; healthcare cuts; chaotic federal policies; rising costs; mental health crises; and government shutdowns. Wittman stands idly by, occasionally chatting with farmers and posing for photo ops, as all of the turmoil he’s voted for shatters the lives of farmers in VA-01.
How can Rob Wittman actually help Virginia’s farmers and rural communities? Let us know what you think by posting comments here or on any of our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, or Reddit.