Agricultural leaders urged the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump‘s secretary of agriculture nominee, Brooke Rollins.
In a letter, 28 state agriculture leaders voiced their support for Rollins, describing her as the “ideal” candidate for the position. They justified their stance by citing her experience with American agriculture from a young age, education, and governmental experience. The leaders, including many state directors of agriculture, also cited her experience “on the frontlines” working in state government, believing this gave her proper respect for the importance of cooperation between federal and state officials regarding agriculture.
“Finally, and arguably of the utmost importance, Secretary-designate Rollins has a strong working relationship with President Trump as she is his former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. We are confident President Trump’s vote of confidence in her will yield tremendous results for our state governments and all of U.S. agriculture,” the letter read.
Rollins required a swift confirmation, it argued, due to the unique pressing circumstances.
“Given the unexpected recent natural disasters, economic hardship, and disease threats faced by U.S. agriculture, it is imperative Secretary-designate Rollins is quickly able to get to work at USDA, so that our states may begin partnering with her on addressing these and other important issues. As such, we urge your Committee, and the entire U.S. Senate, to expeditiously confirm Secretary-designate Rollins as the next Secretary of Agriculture,” the officials argued.
Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell, one of the signatories, also gave his own endorsement, hailing her as a “visionary leader” who would “drive meaningful progress for agriculture across the nation.
“During her hearing, she made it clear that she will defend and support farmers on trade and immigration issues by: using the tools at her disposal to open trading markets and support those impacted by trade, working with the Department of Labor and Congress to make the H2A program more effective and efficient, and being the voice of farmers and ranchers in trade and immigration discussions in the West Wing,” he said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Together, we can put agriculture at the forefront of innovation and sustainability and ‘Make America Healthy Again.’ I look forward to seeing the positive impact her leadership will have on American farming!” Shell added.
Rollins served as a policy adviser during Trump’s first term, then became American First Policy Institute president in 2021. Trump laid similar praise upon her when he nominated her in November.
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“Brooke was on my 2016 Economic Advisory Council, and did an incredible job during my First Term as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Director of the Office of American Innovation, and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives,” Trump said in a statement. “In these roles, she helped develop and manage the transformational Domestic Policy Agenda of my Administration.”
Rollins’s role would find significant overlap with Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services Agency director, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to pursue policy changes on agricultural subsidies and certain agricultural practices he alleges are “destroying small farms and our soil.”
