Copy of AFF Sentinel V21 #49-Trump Nominates Free Market Conservative to USDA
- Steve Dittmer
- Jul 22
- 2 min read
Ag Roots But Policy Background, Not Active in Agricultural Politics
Steve Dittmer | AFF Sentinel
Colorado Springs, CO
Originally sent to subscribers 11/25/24
Over the weekend, the Trump campaign announced their nominee for the Secretary of USDA.
While not on the list of speculated people, Brooke Rollins has been involved in a free market think tank we’re familiar with in Texas. She also founded the conservative America First Policy Institute after serving as Trump’s first-term Domestic Policy director, director of the Office of American Innovation and presidential assistant for strategic initiatives. She has been president of America First, whose chairman was Linda McMahon and vice chairman was Larry Kudlow. She was CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation from 2003-2018. She also was assistant and policy director for Gov. Rick Perry.
She has a degree in agriculture development from Texas A&M and a law degree from the University of Texas. Glen Rose, Texas where she was raised on the family farm is between Waco and Forth Worth.
While she is not an agricultural household name outside of Texas, she has been involved in free market and conservative efforts and should fit in well with most American farmers’ and ranchers’ political philosophy. That she and Kudlow put together the American First group is certainly a recommendation for us.
Hopefully, her farm and Aggie background will help the beef industry in our fight with the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, whose proposed recommendations directly attack it. Of course, most of the budget at USDA is directed towards human nutrition feeding programs. There is lots of tightening up in those programs that could be realized but cutting meat out of them is not good nutritionally.
USDA would be a good place to exercise Trump’s call for common sense as well as the innovation Rollins had worked for in previous posts. Her Texas background should make her cognizant of the fickleness of Mother Nature and the need for safety net and sometime disaster backup for farmers and ranchers. The shift in farm programs from supports to insurance programs has been a step in the direction of more resilient and stable agriculture.
The biggest news about the new Congress was that while Sen. Mitch McConnell will no longer be Senate Minority or Majority Leader, he somehow has maneuvered to be chair of two key committees in next year’s Senate: the Rules Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. McConnell said he is concerned about freedom of political speech in our elections and the Senate’s traditions as well as boosting America’s national security across the globe.
Our address: Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, P.O. Box 88179, Colorado Springs, CO. 80908.
To support the work of AFF, you can contribute with any major credit cards here:
Or,
If you wish to use your Paypal acct. click below: