Brooke Rollins, President Trump’s pick to lead the Agriculture Department, will appear before senators on Thursday to address how she plans to manage the agency, which supports the U.S. farm sector and administers food assistance programs.
Ms. Rollins, a former White House official during Mr. Trump’s first term, does not have the traditional résumé of an agriculture secretary, though her past suggests she has an interest in the sector: She participated in youth agricultural programs, has a degree in agricultural development and, according to her public financial disclosure, owns show cattle.
She also led two prominent conservative think tanks and served as deputy general counsel to the governor of Texas, where she is from. If she is confirmed, it would be a break with recent secretaries, who have typically been governors or lawmakers from farm states.
She has garnered the support of nearly every major farm group, including the influential American Farm Bureau and trade associations representing growers of the nation’s largest crops. A letter signed by more than 400 organizations specifically cited her “close working relationship” with Mr. Trump as an asset.
Senator John Boozman, Republican of Arkansas and the chairman of the agriculture committee, praised Ms. Rollins’s credentials after meeting with her in December — signaling that she had mustered enough support to be confirmed. He said she was “well positioned to be a strong voice and advocate for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.”
If confirmed, Ms. Rollins would oversee an agency with an annual budget of more than $200 billion and nearly 100,000 employees. While Congress determines much of the department’s funding levels, the agriculture secretary can still exert great influence over federal food and farm policy.
Under the Biden administration, the department increased food stamp benefits, provided billions in funding for so-called climate-smart farming practices and compensated Black farmers who faced discrimination. The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have opposed some of those efforts and may seek to roll them back.
At her confirmation hearing, Ms. Rollins is likely to be asked about two of Mr. Trump’s key policy priorities — tariffs and cracking down on illegal immigration — and what effect they could have on the agricultural sector. Canada, for example, has suggested that it could place retaliatory tariffs on Kentucky bourbon and Florida oranges, inflicting economic pain on grain and citrus growers. And large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants could cut into a key source of agricultural labor.
In over two decades in conservative politics, Ms. Rollins has said little publicly about agriculture and food policy, but the two think tanks she led may provide some insight into her positions and interests.
The group she helped found in 2021, the America First Policy Institute, has warned of the risks of Chinese ownership of American farmland and criticized the Biden administration’s expansion of food stamp benefits and its energy policies. Her previous think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has opposed efforts to curb fossil fuels, as well as farm subsidies and ethanol mandates, which both have traditionally garnered bipartisan support in Congress.
Lawmakers may also question Ms. Rollins on the role that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mr. Trump’s pick for health secretary, would play in agriculture and food policy. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he would let Mr. Kennedy “go wild on the food” and Ms. Rollins once praised his platform as “appealing” to young and independent voters.
But Mr. Kennedy’s agenda could run counter to the more traditional approaches of agribusinesses and farm groups. He has expressed support for eliminating certain foods from school meals and food stamps, calling them unhealthy. He has emphasized organic and regenerative agriculture, less pesticide use, an overhaul of subsidies for commodities like corn and soybeans and opposition to seed oils like canola and sunflower.
The Trump administration recently filled senior staff positions in the agriculture department with officials who have more traditional backgrounds in the sector. They include a chief of staff who led the National Oilseed Processors Association, which includes seed oils.
