President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that Brooke L. Rollins, the CEO of the America First Policy Institute and a senior aide during his first administration, was his choice to become Agriculture secretary.
Rollins was director of the Domestic Policy Council in Trump’s first term, director of the Office of American Innovation, and a presidential assistant for strategic initiatives. She founded the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute think tank and America First Works, an advocacy group, four years ago. She’s a native of Texas and was a policy director for GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who was Trump’s first Energy secretary.
“Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our country,” Trump said in a statement posted to his Truth Social account. He said she is committed to “the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns.”
Trump’s pledge to slap tariffs on goods imports, particularly from China, are expected to bring retaliation that could cost U.S. agriculture billions of dollars in lost foreign sales — as happened in his first term. The Agriculture Department spent nearly $30 billion to compensate farmers for the losses until the U.S. reached a trade deal with China.
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, praised Rollins’ selection, saying that she has a good relationship with the Texas state farm bureau.
“We’re encouraged by her statement that she’d ‘fight for America’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities,'” Duvall said in a statement. “Effective leadership at USDA is more important than ever as farmers and ranchers face a struggling agricultural economy.”
Rollins was one of several leaders of think tanks and other groups who wrote to congressional leaders in September 2023 urging Congress to reject a supplemental funding request from President Joe Biden to aid Ukraine, provide disaster relief in the U.S., and to manage the Southwest border. Rollins and the others said Congress should deal with them through regular appropriations bills.
If confirmed, Rollins would become the second woman to lead USDA; the first, Ann Veneman, served under President George W. Bush.
Rollins would manage a sprawling agency that oversees over $200 billion a year in federal spending, with around 70 percent dedicated to nutrition programs, largely food stamps. Next year will be a pivotal one for USDA programs as lawmakers and the Trump administration attempt to hammer out a new multiyear farm bill; lawmakers ran out of time in the 118th Congress and are now prepping a one-year extension.
On Friday night, Trump named Russ Vought as his prospective nominee for another stint as budget director. Vought has called for deep cuts in farm price supports and nutrition programs, including through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements for adults without disabilities.
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