The US Senate, ratifies Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture of the Donald Trump administration at a time when various tariff disputes could approach.
Conservative lawyer Brooke Rollins was confirmed on Thursday as Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, placing a nearby ally of President Donald Trump in a key cabinet position at a time when mass deportation plans could generate a shortage of labor Agrícola and tariffs could affect exports of the sector.
Rollins, who served as Head of National Policy during Trump's first government, was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 72 to 28.
Rollins will now lead a department in charge of supervising almost all aspects of the country's food system, including standards on agricultural practices and raising cattle, federal subsidies to farmers or agricultural companies and the establishment of nutrition standards for schools and public health officials throughout the country.
The Department of Agriculture was in the center of the Trump's commercial war in its previous government, when it increased the subsidies to the farmers who cultivated the two main crops of the country, corn and soybeans, after China imposed retaliation tariffs on the grains and International markets were interrupted.
The United States is the largest food exporter in the world.
During his confirmation hearing in the Senate, Rollins acknowledged that Trump's plans for the mass deportation of people in the country without legal authorization could lead to a shortage of agricultural labor. Cultivators of some vegetables and crops such as apples, as well as dairy operations, depend particularly on migrant labor.
But Rollins said that Americans support Trump's plans and will work to help the president while also trying to protect farmers.
“The vision of the president of a safe border and a mass deportation on a scale that matters is something that supports,” said Rollins.
Rollins is a conservative legal activist and public policy analyst who most recently served as President and Executive Director of America First Policy Institute, a group of experts aligned with Trump who developed policies and cultivated a staff network for the second Trump government.
Other alumni of the AFPI in the Government include the president of the group, Linda McMahon, who was appointed to lead the Department of Education, the Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, among others.
Rollins served as an interim director of the White House National Policy Council during Trump's first mandate, where he supervised a portfolio that included agricultural policy. She was also president of the Texas Public Policies Foundation, a group of conservative experts.
Rollins's nomination was unanimously approved by the Senate Agriculture Commission. Senator Jim Justice, Republican for Western Virginia, called Rollins a “superstar”, while the senators of their native state, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, testified in their name before their confirmation audience.
Rollins promised to “modernize” the USDA according to Trump's vision for the department, which included a faster processing of disasters for farmers and address animal diseases. He also promised to “immediately begin to modernize, realine and rethink the United States Department of Agriculture” in policies such as remote work, in line with the widest position of the Trump government.
The Democrats expressed concern that federal fund freezing had interrupted the aid to farmers and land granting universities, and pressed Rollins about how their support for agricultural communities could collide with the Trump immigration and trade agenda .
Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat by Minnesota, a higher rank member of the Agriculture Commission, pressed Rollins on how she will respond to retaliation tariffs on US crops, given Trump's previous commercial wars.
“Beyond simply obtaining additional payments to compensate for it, will you be a voice to make sure that people understand the importance of exports for the rural United States? And it is not just agriculture, but also manufacturing and things like that, ”Klobuchar asked.
Rollins promised that his team “will be at the table fighting for what we believe is necessary for these communities.
“Of the entire portfolio that, if confirmed, I will assume, the one that excites me the most is the opportunity to present a vision and build a program around revitalizing, restoring and recovering the United States rural,” Rollins said. He warned that “clearly, the federal government cannot do that” but said that a “comprehensive approach” will be needed to help rural communities.