Trump names Brooke Rollins as his pick for Agriculture secretary

By Alayna Treene, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, Shania Shelton and Kate Sullivan, CNN

(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday announced one of his former policy advisers, Brooke Rollins, as his pick for secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump said in a statement.

CNN reported earlier Saturday that Trump was expected to name Rollins to the position.

Rollins is the CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group with close ties to Trump’s transition team, and has been a vocal supporter of the president-elect.

She congratulated Trump following his election win earlier this month, saying in a post on X, “We love you, Mr. President, and we are so proud to continue the battle for an America built around your America First vision.”

Rollins’ name had previously been floated as a potential White House chief of staff. But Rollins stood down after it became clear that seeking the role would amount to a serious power struggle with Susie Wiles, who was ultimately named for the position.

Rollins told the transition team that Agriculture secretary would be another role she would be interested in, one source familiar said. Trump and Rollins spoke this week about the role.

“As our next Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke will spearhead the effort to protect American Farmers, who are truly the backbone of our Country,” Trump said in his statement Saturday. “Congratulations Brook!”

In Trump’s first term, Rollins served as White House Domestic Policy Council director. Before that, she was president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, for 15 years.

CNN reported Friday that Trump was poised to offer the post to businesswoman and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon. There had been several discussions between Loeffler and the transition team regarding the position. But Trump held off from announcing his Agriculture pick as he issued a slew of others Friday night, raising questions about whether Loeffler was ultimately offered the post.

The Department of Agriculture consists of 29 agencies and offices and has nearly 100,000 employees. In addition to agriculture, its areas of focus are natural resources, rural development and nutrition.

The job will likely be a significant one — especially as Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has promised to assert his influence over the agriculture industry.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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