The U.S. Senate confirmed Brooke Rollins to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday in a 72-28 vote. Rollins previously received a 23-0 favorable vote from the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee last week.
Rollins, a longtime policy advisor from Texas, previously served as acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under Trump. She founded the America First Policy Institute with Larry Kudlow in 2021 after the end of the administration. The organization advances policy priorities laid out by the first Trump administration, including a crackdown on immigration and a rollback of rules related to agriculture.
Rollins is against so-called "Green New Deal" policies, according to a post from the America First Policy Institute.
Rolling back the climate agenda of former President Joe Biden has been a Day 1 priority for the Trump administration. An executive order entitled "Unleashing American Energy" ordered a halt to programs related to the Green New Deal, a policy proposal that influenced the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
The Trump administration expressed support for more oil and gas production in the memo, but also highlighted the potential of biofuels, a product category that’s received support from the Department of Agriculture in recent years. As Agriculture secretary, Rollins is expected to coordinate on some of the policies created by those laws. In particular, the fate of tax credits for various clean energy projects, including biofuels, remains uncertain.
During Rollins' confirmation hearing, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, pressed the nominee for specifics on her support for biofuels policy. Ernst specifically noted the need to set Renewable Volume Obligations this year, a key component of the Renewable Fuel Standard. The policy influences credits for the alternative fuels markets, including renewable natural gas.
Rollins said she would work with other senior administration officials to provide certainty that favorable programs would continue. "I think there’s no question where President Trump stands on this ... I really look forward to working with you but also with my friend Lee Zeldin, if confirmed over at EPA, on a piece of this."
Other agricultural programs benefiting the waste industry also remain up in the air. The Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreements program was ensnared in the funding freeze floated by the Trump administration in late January. That dispute continues in the courts, where a Rhode Island judge recently determined Trump's administration was defying court orders to reinstate funding for certain programs.
The administration could also act on food waste. During the first Trump administration, the five-year budget authorization for the USDA, known as the farm bill, created a new food loss and waste reduction liaison role within the department and the administration launched efforts to tackle food waste.
The USDA is currently operating on a one-year budget extension, and a new farm bill remains overdue. Congress is expected to pick it up again this year, creating an opportunity to shape the agenda and priorities for the new secretary.
