Brooke Rollins Confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture

Brooke Rollins, President Donald Trump's nominee to be Agriculture Secretary, speaks during her Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen building in Washington on Jan. 23, 2025. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Brooke Rollins was confirmed by the Senate as secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Feb. 13 by a vote of 72–28. An advocate of family farms, Rollins was a Future Farmers of America state officer growing up.

During the first Trump administration, Rollins served as assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives and as a member of the Office of American Innovation. She was influential in passing the First Step Act, which sought to reform the U.S. prison system.

Speaking ahead of the confirmation vote, Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, said Rollins’s executive leadership during the first Trump administration makes her “uniquely qualified to serve in this position and advocate for family farms.”

“She is well-prepared to hit the ground running when she walks through the doors of USDA as secretary,” he said.

The USDA, which spans 29 agencies and offices, has around 100,000 employees and a pending budget of $213.3 billion.

The agency manages national forests, agricultural lending programs, food safety inspections, rural development, commodity trade policies, standards for school meals, and nutrition programs that assist low-income people, pregnant women, and young children. Because it manages vast tracts of land, including national forest land, it also fights wildfires.

At her confirmation hearing on Jan. 23, Rollings said that as secretary of agriculture, she would prioritize helping family farms and the agricultural community as a whole.

According to USDA data, the number of farms in the United States fell by 141,733 between 2017 and 2022—a drop of 7 percent. Farm acreage fell by 20.1 million during the same time period, a loss roughly equal to the size of Maine.

“I fully recognize that if I am confirmed, I am stepping into the role during one of the most economically challenging times in American agriculture history,” Rollins said at her confirmation hearing.

“It is clear we all agree that farmers and ranchers are the cornerstone of our nation’s communities, and I commit to you today that if confirmed, I will do everything in my ability to make sure our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities thrive.”

The Texas native once served as CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. She earned degrees from Texas A&M and the University of Texas Law School.

Rollins was President Donald Trump’s domestic policy chief during his first term. She also served as general deputy counsel and policy adviser for former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

When President Joe Biden was in office, Rollins led the America First Policy Institute, an organization aligned with Trump. She co-founded the organization with former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow in 2021.

Convincing Congress to adopt the five-year Farm Bill will be one of her most significant early challenges.

“I look forward to working with this committee, and with the House Agriculture Committee, to pass a Farm Bill that provides the certainty and predictability our farm families need,” she said in her opening statement.

The omnibus bill includes agriculture, conservation, and nutrition policies. It was signed by Trump in 2018 and has been extended twice.

The USDA’s 125-page fiscal year 2025 budget summary indicates its request is $213.3 billion. That includes mandatory Farm Bill programs totaling $181.7 billion, with $31.6 billion in discretionary funding.

Adopted in 2024 by the House, but yet to be considered in the Senate, the Farm Bill details $1.46 trillion in spending over the next 10 years.

The 2018 Farm Bill expired for a second time on Sept. 30, 2024. The latest extension gives Congress until Sept. 30 this year to pass a new measure.

In her opening statement, Rollins outlined additional day-one priorities.

“We must ensure that the disaster and economic assistance authorized by Congress is deployed as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” she said.

Rollins is expected to work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a number of issues. Kennedy was confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Feb. 13.

The USDA and HHS have a late 2025 deadline to complete the 2025–30 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Kennedy has said he will focus on removing ultra-processed foods from school lunches, eliminating harmful chemicals from foods, and implementing other measures to address what he calls a “chronic disease epidemic” in the United States

The former Democrat and independent presidential candidate has also pledged to ban candy, soda, and other “junk foods” from being eligible to buy with food stamps under the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.