One of Donald Trump’s closest aides is poised to head the powerful United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), with Brooke Rollins, Trump’s former head of domestic policy, set to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Rollins, 52, is the 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 succeed Tom Vilsack, who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programmes related to farming, ranching, food quality, nutrition and…forestry.
In nominating Rollin – the last of his cabinet positions – President Trump praised her contributions: “Brooke was on my 2016 Economic Advisory Council and did an incredible job during my First Term as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Director of the Office of American Innovation, and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives.”
Will Rollins wind-back plans to phase out Old-Growth logging?
Last month, Wood Central revealed that logging was a hot-button political issue leading up to the 2024 presidential elections, with Kamala Harris and Trump clashing over how old-growth forests should be managed.
In recent months, Republicans and Democrats have clashed over logging. In June, President Biden promised to “halt all logging in old-growth forests” after publishing a plan that will apply to more than 32 million acres of forests managed by the US Forest Service and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management from early next year.
However, those plans are now in doubt, with President Trump—under his previous term of presidency—opening vast areas of West Coast forests to logging —a policy reversed after federal wildlife officials determined that Trump appointees used faulty science to justify shrinking areas of forest that are considered crucial habitats for endangered species.
Rollins will be a key stakeholder in implementing Trump’s tariff plan.
As well as tackling old-growth logging, Rollin will also 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 coming 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.)
Yesterday, agricultural industry groups and several other contenders for the position were quick to react 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.”
Like other Cabinet nominations, Rollins now needs U.S. Senate approval to be put in the post. If confirmed, she would be 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.”
