President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will appoint former White House aide Brooke Rollins as his agriculture secretary, the finalist in his choice. leading executive agencies And another choice from among their established advisors and associates.
The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office on January 20, 2025. Rollins succeeds President Biden's Tom Vilsack. Agriculture Secretary Which oversees the vast agency that regulates policies, regulations, and aid programs related to farming, forestry, animal husbandry, food quality, and nutrition.
Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump ally, having served as his former domestic policy chief. She is the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration.
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Rollins, 52, previously worked as an aide to former Texas Governor Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Rollins' choice completed Trump's selection of heads of executive branch departments, two and a half weeks after the former president once again won the White House. Several other traditionally Cabinet-level picks remain in place, including the U.S. Trade Representative and the head of the Small Business Administration.
Trump didn't reveal much about his agriculture policies during the campaign, but farmers could be impressed if he keeps his pledge. impose comprehensive tariffsDuring the first Trump administration, countries such as China regularly responded to Trump's tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on US exports such as corn and soybeans sold abroad. Trump countered this by offering billions of dollars in massive aid to farmers to help them deal with the trade war.
President Abraham Lincoln established the USDA in 1862, when nearly half of Americans lived on farms. The USDA oversees several assistance programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs which form the basis of the country's food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women, and young children. And the agency sets standards for school meals.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to step down from his post ultraprocessed foods Stop allowing school lunches and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries to use food stamps to purchase soda, candy or other so-called junk foods. But it will be USDA, not HHS, that will be responsible for implementing those changes.
Additionally, HHS and USDA will work together to finalize the 2025-2030 version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They are due out late next year, along with guidance on healthy diets and standards for federal nutrition programs.