Trump picks Brooke Rollins for Agriculture Department

Donald Trump recently rounded out his Cabinet with the name of the new Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, another position for the person closest to him.

• “As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will lead the effort to protect American farmers, who are the true backbone of our country,” the president-elect said in a statement from his transition team.

Who is Rollins?A lawyer, 52 years old and born in Glen Rose (a rural area of ​​Texas), Rollins was the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council at the end of Trump’s first term, before founding the American First Policy Institute (AFPI).

• What is AFPI? A think tank Created in 2021 to promote former President Trump’s public agenda after completing his first term. It was founded by Rollins along with others close to the Republican nominee, such as Linda McMahon, who was later appointed Secretary of Education.

Rollins served on Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors in 2016 and was the director of the Office of American Innovation and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives. “He did an incredible job during my first term,” Trump recalled in the statement. “While holding these positions, they helped develop and manage my Administration’s transformative national policy agenda,” he said.

Agriculture SecretaryAs Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, Rollins will be in charge of approximately 100,000 USDA employees across 29 agencies and offices.

• If confirmed by the Senate, Rollins will take part in the renegotiation of the trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada and tackle the President-elect’s promise to establish tariffs on certain agricultural products.

• Rollins will be the second woman to head the USDA, following Ann Venneman, who served in the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009).