United States: Donald Trump appoints his Secretary of Agriculture

US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had nominated the president of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) think tank, Brooke Rollins, as Secretary of Agriculture, the last position that had not yet been assigned within his government.

Lawyer, Brooke Rollins was director of the White House Domestic Policy Council at the end of Donald Trump’s first term, before founding AFPI in 2021 with other figures close to the Republican candidate, Larry Kudlow and Linda McMahon , herself appointed Minister of Education.

“Brooke (Rollins)’s commitment to American farmers, to defending America’s food self-sufficiency and to revitalizing small towns dependent on agriculture is unmatched,” said Donald Trump in a statement, “she will have mission to protect our farmers, the true backbone of our country.

Improve food quality

As head of the Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins will oversee the government’s agricultural and food programs, food research and trade as well as food safety, animal welfare and plant health.

Brooke Rollins, 52, is a traditional conservative who could find herself in conflict with Health Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to improve the quality of America’s diet and wants to reduce chemicals and ultra-processed food.

The new Secretary of Agriculture had for a time been seen as a potential chief of staff for the president-elect, before the position was ultimately given to Susie Wiles.

Reward those who remained faithful to him

With this appointment and the series announced Friday evening, Donald Trump has completed his government and will now be able to set about assigning the main positions in the Federal Administration, some 4,000 of which are renewed during an alternation at the White House.

The future American president quickly appointed his main ministers, rewarding in particular those who remained loyal to him in recent years, when he was faced with several legal investigations and trials.

This is notably the case of Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, of the now former Fox News presenter Pete Hegseth at Defense or of the independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who finally withdrew to rally behind Donald Trump.

Some government positions still remain unallocated for the time being, such as the head of Small and Medium Enterprises, or that of the Office of Science and Technology. The position of White House Trade Representative (USTR) is also currently unassigned, but the new Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, is supposed to supervise these teams, which traditionally report directly to the presidency.

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