Trump taps loyalist Rollins for USDA chief in surprise pick

Donald Trump picked Brooke Rollins as his Agriculture secretary, after weeks of intense internal fighting over the role. Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration. Since her time in the White House, Rollins has co-founded and helmed the America First Policy Institute think tank, which played an influential role in the transition and has been referred to as Trump’s White House in waiting. Rollins, who grew up on a farm and has a degree in agricultural development, is a surprise pick for the role, with less experience in agriculture policy than those on Trump’s shortlist. The Agriculture Department operates a $430 billion-plus yearly budget and employs 100,000 people. The department shapes nearly every part of the country’s $1.5 trillion food and agriculture industry. If confirmed, Rollins will also oversee the country’s largest anti-hunger program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It provides food aid benefits to more than 40 million low-income Americans and Republicans are eyeing ways to rein in future spending on the program as part of a major 2025 reconciliation package.