President-elect Trump’s pick for agriculture secretary in his second term was a bit of a surprise. He tapped former White House adviser Brooke Rollins after several major news outlets reported that former Georgia senator Kelly Loeffler would be the nominee. Jess Peterson is senior policy adviser with the US Cattlemen’s Association. He tells RFD-TV that Rollins is a bit of an unknown, but says that can have its advantages.
“That means she won over President-elect Trump, and she has something that President Trump believes, and frankly, she comes from some out-of-the-box thinking. She’s from Texas, so she’s not going to be beholden to anyone in the beltway in Washington. She’s going to work on America-first priorities. And there’s some very, very key issues from the US Cattlemen’s Association perspective, that we look forward to working with her that are very critical, both from the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration. that we need to work to keep moving forward.”
Peterson cites Rollins’ background as a plus.
“I always like folks that get in that role, that look that they’re not looking for the next big consulting gig after it, right? They truly are excited. They come from the grassroots. She has a legal background, a law degree that’s very helpful. She served in state politics, so you look at a resume of both real-world working knowledge and policy knowledge. So she brings both of those to the table.”
Once Rollins is confirmed, Peterson says she’ll have a full plate of business to attend to.
“We have an animal identification, a mandate out there that’s very, very unpopular in cow country. She’s going to have to deal with some advances on animal identification that are not very popular that need to be addressed us. US Cattlemen’s will be asking for reconsideration on she also has a closed loophole on country boards and labeling that will be going live in force in January of 2026, in addition to policy that was teed up vis-a-vis the Trump administration, the previous Trump administration, on changes to livestock price reporting to increase price discovery that proposed rule was done under President Biden and Under Secretary Vilsack, that would be under her watch.”