Brooke Rollins was confirmed on Feb. 13 by the U.S. Senate as secretary of agriculture by a vote of 72-28. Rollins is a longtime political ally of President Donald Trump, having held key positions in both the Office of American Innovation and the United States Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first administration. She is just the second woman to serve as secretary of agriculture; Ann Veneman held the position from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate, Rollins was asked about how the administration’s plans for large-scale deportation of people in the country illegally could affect labor on America’s farms, ranches and food processing facilities. She acknowledged that the policy could lead to labor shortages in the food and agriculture sector but reiterated her support for the president’s policy.
In her first weeks in the position, Rollins held meetings with several state governors, met with Forest Service firefighters to gain perspective on prevention and reduction of wildfires, participated in discussions with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency on potential ways to streamline and optimize the USDA, rolled out an extensive, $1 billion strategy to combat avian flu and reduce egg prices, and tabbed Tom Schultz as the newest chief of the U.S. Forest Service.
Rollins grew up on a farm in Glen Rose, Texas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in in agricultural development from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Texas.
Jamieson Greer. Courtesy image.
On Feb. 26, the Senate confirmed Jamieson Greer as U.S. trade representative by a vote of 56-43.
A former Air Force attorney, Greer served in the first Trump administration as chief of staff to then-Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. In that role, Greer was instrumental in helping negotiate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and working with congressional Democrats to get it approved. He was also involved in trade talks with China throughout one of the biggest international trade disputes in the past century.
Some Senate Democrats said they voted against Greer’s nomination as a form of protest to what they view as Trump’s quarrelsome and unpredictable trade policy.
Rollins and Greer assume their respective roles at an uncertain time for international trade, with 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico set to take effect March 4, after they were forestalled for 30 days from their originally proposed start date in early February. Trump has said he also plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on foreign countries that currently have higher import tariffs than the U.S.
