President-elect Donald Trump has selected Brooke Rollins to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in his second term. Currently, Rollins serves as president and chief executive officer of the America First Policy Institute.
Rollins was formerly director of the Domestic Policy Council and assistant to the president for Strategic Initiatives in the White House under President Donald Trump, where she also previously served as director of the Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she developed and managed the domestic policy agenda of the previous Trump administration.
Rollins graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development and was the first female to be elected student body president. After earning her Juris Doctor with honors at the University of Texas School of Law, she served as Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s policy director before running the Texas Public Policy Foundation for 15 years.
After her selection, Rollins released the following statement: “Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. It will be the honor of my life to fight for America’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities. This is big stuff for a small-town ag girl from Glen Rose, Texas — truly the American Dream at its greatest.”
Statements from various farm organizations have been positive regarding her selection to run USDA. Zippy Duval, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, noted: “We congratulate Brooke Rollins on her nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture. We’re pleased she has a good relationship with our state Farm Bureau in Texas and hope to build on it if she’s confirmed by the Senate. We’re encouraged by her statement that she’d ‘fight for America’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities.’ Effective leadership at USDA is more important than ever as farmers and ranchers face a struggling agricultural economy.”