United States Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday (Jan. 23, 2025) in a hearing that the National Farmers Union says was “largely warm and collegial.” The hearing served as a public introduction for Rollins as well as the Trump-Vance administration’s agricultural policy. Several senators reiterated the importance of Rollins’ close ties and access to President Trump and urged her to be a voice for agriculture among the President’s inner circle.
On the issues, Rollins listed five major priorities in her opening remarks, which NFU has paraphrased below:
- Deploy disaster and economic aid as quickly as possible
- Contain and eradicate avian flu and New World Screwworm
- Work with the ag committees to pass a Farm Bill
- “Reconstitute, rebuild, and revivify” USDA to focus on serving all of American agriculture
- Improve rural development and trade programs, eliminate burdensome regulations, and make nutrition programs more efficient
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) pressed Rollins about his support for mandatory Country-of-Origin labeling (COOL) for cattle and asked her to work with him and the U.S. Trade Representative to find a WTO-compliant way to reinstate COOL, to which she gave a general commitment.
Rollins pledged to work closely with Labor Secretary nominee and former congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) as well as Congress to reform and modernize the H-2A program while ensuring that the “first round” of deportations will only focus on “those who have committed crimes and are criminals inside our borders.” Rollins’ approach towards payment limits, “actively-engaged in farming” definitions, and program eligibility will be made clear in the next few months as USDA has considerably discretion in distributing disaster and economic assistance funds.
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