WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House adviser Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary.
The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, when Trump takes office on January 20, 2025. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary, who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and assistance programs related to agriculture, forestry, livestock, food quality and nutrition.
Rollins, a lawyer who earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural development from Texas A&M University, is a longtime Trump aide who served as the White House’s domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group that is helping lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Rollins previously served as an adviser to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She worked as a trial attorney in Dallas and, after receiving her law degree from the University of Texas, also clerked for a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas.
The pick completes Trump’s selection of executive department heads, just two and a half weeks after the former president won the White House again. Several other nominees traditionally at the Cabinet level remain, including U.S. Trade Representative and head of the Small Business Administration.
Speaking on the Christian talk show “Family Talk” earlier this year, Rollins said Trump was an “amazing boss” and admitted that in 2015, during his first presidential campaign, she thought he would fail as a candidate in a crowded Republican primary would field.
“I was the person who said, ‘Oh, Donald Trump won’t stay in the Republican primary for more than two or three weeks.’ This is to enhance its television show ratings. And then we will get back to normal,” she said. “A few years later, I’m running his domestic agenda.”
Trump didn’t provide many details about his agricultural policies on the campaign trail, but farmers could be affected if he follows through on his promise to impose sweeping tariffs. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports such as corn and soybeans, which are routinely sold abroad. Trump countered by offering farmers massive billions in aid to assist them weather the trade war.
President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The USDA oversees several farmer support programs; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that sustain the country’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and newborn children. And the agency sets standards for school meals.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to eliminate highly processed foods from school lunches and stop allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries to utilize food stamps to buy soda, Use sweets or other drinks. called junk food. However, the USDA, not HHS, would be responsible for implementing these changes.
Additionally, HHS and USDA will work together to finalize the 2025-2030 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They are due out delayed next year and will include guidelines for vigorous eating and standards for federal nutrition programs.
___ Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Josh Funk and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report.
