Feb 14, 2025

Senate confirms Rollins as new USDA leader

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Brooke Rollins, a Texas lawyer who served as chief for domestic policy during Donald Trump’s first administration, as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Rollins is a conservative legal activist and public policy analyst who most recently served as president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank that developed policy and cultivated a network of personnel for the second Trump administration.

On Feb. 13, the U.S. Senate voted 72-28 to confirm Rollins to lead the USDA.

During Trump’s first term, Rollins served as acting director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, overseeing a portfolio that included agriculture policy. She also served as president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank.

“Farm Bureau congratulates Brooke Rollins on her confirmation to be Secretary of Agriculture. We look forward to her leadership as she takes over USDA at a critical time for America’s farmers and ranchers,” American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall said in a news release. “Farm and ranch families are looking for a champion and a voice as they continue to face economic headwinds, labor challenges and uncertainty over the rural impacts of Washington’s current policy debates. Ms. Rollins will need to hit the ground running to ensure the administration understands the challenges farmers and ranchers are facing.”

With a heart for agriculture and rural America, Farm Bureau is confident Rollins will prioritize the distribution of disaster and economic aid, ensure adequate staffing for the essential functions of USDA agencies, keep USDA’s contractual promises with farmers, advocate for trade policy that maintains and grows markets for our agricultural products, and work with Congress to pass a modernized farm bill, Duvall said in the release.

“The list is long, but we know she’s up to the challenge,” Duvall said in the release. “Sec. Rollins knows her way around Washington and her experience navigating complex policies will serve agriculture well in the years to come. She will need a strong team built around her leadership, so we encourage the Senate to quickly confirm the remaining positions at USDA, including deputy secretary and under secretaries. We stand ready to roll up our sleeves and work with USDA, and the new administration, to ensure government policy positions farmers to manage the many risks and barriers in front of us so we can keep America’s pantries stocked.”

The National Potato Council weighed-in.

“We welcome Brooke Rollins’ confirmation and look forward to working with her to address the critical challenges confronting American farmers and rural communities,” the National Potato Council said in a statement. “Her leadership at the USDA is essential as the U.S. potato industry and our specialty crop allies work to pass a new farm bill, secure essential funding for research and market development projects, open new foreign markets, and support the growers and workers who are delivering nutrition to dinner tables around the world.”

In January, NPC joined more than 400 agriculture groups and businesses on a letter of support for Rollins, stating that her “close working relationship with incoming President Trump will ensure that agriculture and rural America have a prominent and influential voice at the table when critical decisions are made in the White House.”