Trump nominates Rollins as ag secretary
On Nov. 24, just weeks after winning the 2024 Presidential Election, President-Elect Donald Trump rounded out his cabinet picks by nominating America First Policy Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Brooke Rollins as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) secretary of ag.
Rollins grew up on a generational family farm in Glen Rose, Texas, where she was actively involved in 4-H and FFA before attending Texas A&M University and obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Development.
Rollins formerly served as the director of the Office of American Innovation and as the acting director of the U.S. Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first administration, then spearheaded the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit organization launched in 2021 to keep Trump’s policy agenda alive.
“From her upbringing in the small, agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas and her years of leadership involvement with 4-H and FFA, to her family farming background and guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Rollins has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep policy credentials in both nonprofit and government leadership at the state and national levels,” Trump stated during his announcement speech on Nov. 24.
“As our next secretary of agriculture, Rollins will spearhead the effort to protect American farmers who are truly the backbone of our country,” he continued.
According to several sources, Rollins originally campaigned to serve as Trump’s chief of staff, one of the first position’s the president-elect announced to be filled by his Campaign Manager Susie Wiles.
Instead, Rollins was a surprise pick to head the USDA, as former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) was rumored to fill the position prior to Trump’s Nov. 24 announcement.
Rollins’ nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by the Republican Party when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.
If confirmed, Rollins would succeed current Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack as the second woman to lead the USDA, where she would oversee nearly 100,000 employees and numerous farm subsidy and federal nutrition programs, policy and regulations, meat inspection and all other aspects of the food, farming and forestry industries.
Rollins will likely also work closely with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services, who has vowed to reform ag policy and “make America healthy again.”
Following her nomination announcement, Rollins wrote on the social media platform X, “It will be the honor of my life to fight for American’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities. Who is ready to make agriculture great again?”
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
