(CNN) The Trump administration is preparing to inject billions of dollars into the agricultural sector to protect farmers from the pain they're feeling from an escalating trade war.

On Capitol Hill, however, some members have a message for Trump: not so fast.

"It's a short-term solution and it doesn't solve any of the problems agriculture's got right now," said Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota who's a member of the GOP leadership. "What (US agriculture) needs is more markets, expanded markets. These policies are restricting markets, and to offset that they are going to make, basically, payments to farmers to recognize the loss they have experienced. But it's just not the right way to do it."

The administration announced Tuesday that it would provide $12 billion in funding assistance to farmers and that the deal would be only a short-term solution that would give Trump time to work on longer-term trade deals. But the possible influx in funding is forcing Republicans -- many whom blasted the Obama administration for bailouts during his first term -- to confront an uncomfortable reality. Handing out billions to the agriculture sector runs counter to conservative orthodoxy, but abandoning farmers who have struggled because of an escalating trade war may not be politically tenable with just months until the midterm elections.

"They'd much rather have free trade so they'd like to have trade arrangements already completed, but nonetheless, it's going to get down to a point where they're not going to be able to survive if this continues down the same path," Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, said of farmers. "If that means having a short-term aid package, that's certainly better than nothing."

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