One of Donald Trump’s closest aides will head the powerful United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), with Brooke Rollins, Trump’s former head of domestic policy, confirmed by the US Senate today to lead the department.
Rollins, 52, is the former President and CEO of the America First Policy Institute – the conservative think tank that laid much of the groundwork for Trump’s second administration – and will now succeed Tom Vilsack, who oversaw the agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programmes related to farming, ranching, food quality, nutrition and…forestry.
The Senate voted 72 to 28 to confirm Rollins after its Agriculture Committee held her hearing on January 23 and, on February 3, advanced her unanimously. House Agriculture Committee chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson and ranking member Angie Craig both said that Rollins was assuming the role at a critical time for agriculture, and they looked forward to collaboration.
“She is taking the helm of USDA at a critical juncture for our producers, and her experience and commitment to agriculture will be invaluable as we work together to strengthen our economy,” according to “GT” Thompson, a Republican member from Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district.
Meanwhile, Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district, is hoping to work with Rollins on a litany of issues: “Family farmers are struggling with high input costs and low prices; tariffs are being proposed that will raise costs on producers and consumers; the agricultural workforce is being threatened; and Congress is behind schedule in passing a new, bipartisan farm bill,” she said.
Will Rollins follow through on Trump’s “Cut, Baby Cut” forestry policy?
Last year, Wood Central revealed that logging was a hot-button political issue leading up to the 2024 presidential elections, with Harris and Trump clashing over how forests should be managed – with Trump poised to reverse Biden’s executive order to “halt logging in (select) old-growth forests” later this year.
“I think it is fair to say in summary that the new Trump administration will not only endorse the “drill baby drill” slogan but will also support the “cut baby cut” approach,” according to Jonathan Carter from the Forest Ecology Network, who said the Rollins appointment, along with the appointment of Governor Doug Burgum to Secretary of the Interior, marks a strong departure from Biden.
Already, these plans were on shaky ground, with federal officials (under Trump’s 2017 to 2020 term) ordered to open up vast areas of West Coast forests for potential logging – and more recently, President Trump has pushed for greater logging to reduce the wildfire risk.
Rollins will be a key stakeholder in implementing Trump’s tariff plan.
As well as tackling old-growth logging, Rollin will play a major role in Trump’s tariff plans – which could see a blanket 10% tariff on all imported agricultural (forestry and timber) products and a 60-100% tariff on all products from China.
As it stands, the US is the world’s largest producer of forest products, has the highest per capita consumption of industrial wood, and is the second-largest consumer market (behind China) for lumber, engineered wood products, paper, and wood energy. In addition, the United States also has the largest stake in the USMCA – the world’s largest free trade zone, which includes Canada (the world’s fourth-largest lumber and pulp producer) and Mexico (one of the world’s fastest-growing lumber consumption markets.)
Already, agricultural industry groups and several other contenders for the position have reacted quickly to the new appointment. “We congratulate Brooke Rollins on her nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture,” according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the national advocate for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. “We’re encouraged by her statement that she’d ‘fight for America’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities.”
Now confirmed, Rollins is the second woman to hold the top USDA post. It was previously expected that Trump would nominate former Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Rollins thanked the president-elect: “It will be the honour of my life to fight for America’s farmers and our Nation’s agricultural communities.”
- Click here to find out why Trump’s support for American-made furniture manufacturing makes him a “global target.” And to learn more about the six new appointees to Trump’s Department of Agriculture, click here.
