Trump agriculture nominee, Brooke Rollins, clears key Senate hurdle ahead of confirmation vote

Members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee voted favorably Monday for President Donald Trump’s nominee, Brooke Rollins, to head up the Department of Agriculture (USDA), a widely expected outcome that clears her for a vote in the full Senate later this week.

Rollins was passed favorably out of committee on a unanimous vote. 

Rollins, who served as a White House aide during Trump’s first administration and then as the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, is widely viewed as an uncontroversial nominee. 

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Her nomination earned the backing of a coalition of more than 415 farmers, agricultural, and growers groups earlier this month. Signatories urged the Senate to swiftly confirm Rollins, praising what they described as her foundational knowledge of agriculture, as well as her policy and business bona fides that they said made her uniquely qualified for the role of U.S. agriculture secretary.

The committee vote comes at a crucial time for U.S. growers’ groups and agribusinesses across the country. Lawmakers in Congress have stalled on a new farm bill and on other key priorities for farmers and industry groups.

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They also failed to secure the full extent of farm aid and agriculture subsidies considered necessary by many groups in their eleventh-hour government spending bill passed late last month. 

Rollins vowed at her confirmation hearing that, if approved, she would use her post as agriculture secretary to embark on a “fast and furious” effort to distribute those funds to farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. She also vowed to combat fast-spreading animal disease in the U.S. and North America, including bird flu, which has hampered the poultry industry and sent egg prices soaring. 

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If confirmed, Rollins said last week, she would “immediately begin to modernize, realign, rethink the United States Department of Agriculture.”

“We understand that serving all American agriculture and all the American people means ensuring that our rural communities are equipped and supported to prosper, not just today, but tomorrow and the day after that in the many tomorrows to come,” she told lawmakers.

Those supporting Rollins’ nomination have also praised her “close working relationship” with the president, which they said will “ensure that agriculture and rural America have a prominent and influential voice at the table when critical decisions are made in the White House.”

Rollins was not expected to face staunch opposition to her nomination to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and lawmakers who have spoken out have largely praised both her experience and strong knowledge of the agriculture sector.