The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed former White House official Brooke Rollins to helm President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) Thursday afternoon.
Senators voted 72 to 28 in favor of the USDA nominee’s confirmation. Rollins becomes Trump’s 16th cabinet nominee to secure confirmation, far outpacing the confirmation schedules of the Biden administration and first Trump administration.
The Biden administration did not have 16 cabinet nominees confirmed until March 10, placing the Senate GOP’s confirmation pace almost a month ahead of its predecessor’s schedule, a senior GOP aide told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
BREAKING
Dick Durbin is a YES for Brooke Rollins’ Nomination, Still Unsure About RFK Jr. and Kash Patel
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— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 13, 2025
Rollins garnered support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, including Republican Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who spoke on the Senate floor Thursday urging his colleagues to confirm the USDA nominee.
“I know Brooke Rollins shares my commitment to enhancing policies that help farm families and rural communities thrive,” Boozman said. “Given her executive leadership, she is well-prepared to hit the ground running when she walks through the doors of USDA as Secretary and deliver the certainty and predictability our producers need.”
Rollins cleared the Senate agriculture panel unanimously during a vote of 23 to 0 on Feb. 4.
Senate Democrats notably agreed to expedite Collins’ confirmation vote while furiously opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy secured confirmation Thursday prior to Rollins in a vote of 52 to 48. McConnell was the lone Senate Republican to oppose Kennedy’s confirmation.
“The demands of American agriculture and the stakes our farmers take have never been higher,” Rollins said during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Jan. 22. “When farmers prosper, rural America prospers, and I commit to you today, if confirmed, that I will do everything within my ability to make sure our farmers, ranchers and rural communities thrive.”
“We must work with the great men and women of USDA and the stakeholder community to immediately and comprehensively get a handle on the state of animal-disease outbreaks, including H5N1 and New World Screwworm, and do everything possible to eradicate them,” Rollins added while discussing her priorities as USDA secretary.
Rollins served as the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council in the first Trump administration and was president and chief executive officer of the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute prior to helming the USDA.
The Senate is slated to consider Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick’s nomination to serve as Department of Commerce secretary and former Republican Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s nomination to helm the Small Business Administration next Tuesday.
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