Summary
Brooke Leslie Rollins (born April 10, 1972) is an American attorney and policy advisor currently announced as the presumptive nominee for United States secretary of agriculture in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Rollins previously served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director to Texas governor Rick Perry. She is an advocate of criminal justice reform. Rollins was the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, from 2003 through 2018. During her tenure at TPPF, the think tank grew from having a staff of three to a staff of 100.
OnAir Post: Brooke Rollins – USDA
News
Agriculture Dive, – November 25, 2024
The conservative lawyer is CEO of right-wing think tank America First Policy Institute, which is poised to exert enormous influence in the president-elect’s second term.
President-elect Donald Trump named Brooke Rollins to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rollins, a Texas native, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank launched in 2021 to promote Trump’s economic policies. A conservative lawyer, Rollins also served as acting director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council at the end of Trump’s first term.
If confirmed, Rollins would oversee a sprawling department that influences nearly every part of the food and agriculture industry, from trade policy to food safety. She would also be responsible for administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.
About
Brooke Leslie Rollins is originally from Glen Rose, Texas, and serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AFPI. Rollins was formerly Director of the Domestic Policy Council and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives in the White House under President Donald Trump, where she also previously served as Director of the Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she developed and managed the transformational domestic policy agenda of the Trump Administration, leading to historic achievements for the American people. Rollins graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development and was the first female to be elected student body president.
After earning her Juris Doctor with honors at the University of Texas School of Law, she served as Governor Rick Perry’s policy director before running the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) for 15 years. At TPPF, Rollins elevated a small policy organization to a national force and redefined the possibilities for a state-based think tank — setting the model and aspiration for AFPI. Rollins and her husband, Mark, currently reside in Fort Worth, Texas, and spend a large majority of their free time taxiing their four very active children to baseball games, cattle shows, piano lessons, and Aggie football games.
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Wikipedia
Brooke Leslie Rollins (born April 10, 1972) is an American attorney and policy advisor currently announced as the presumptive nominee for United States secretary of agriculture in President Donald Trump‘s administration.
Rollins previously served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director to Texas governor Rick Perry. She is an advocate of criminal justice reform. Rollins was the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, from 2003 through 2018. During her tenure at TPPF, the think tank grew from having a staff of three to a staff of 100.
Rollins oversaw the White House Office of American Innovation under President Donald Trump from 2018 until 2020. She also served as the acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council under President Trump. Since the end of the Trump administration, Rollins served as the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute.
On November 23, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his intent to nominate Rollins to be secretary of agriculture. If confirmed, she will be the second woman to hold the position, after Ann Veneman.
Early life and education
Rollins was born on April 10, 1972.[1] Her mother Helen Kerwin was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2024.[2] She was raised on a farm in Glen Rose, Texas and attended Texas A&M University, where she graduated cum laude with a B.S. in agricultural development in 1994.[3] While at Texas A&M, Rollins was the first woman to be elected student body president. She also served as the speaker pro tempore of the Student Senate, the chair of the Texas A&M Judicial Court, as a Fish Camp counselor, and was Cotton Bowl Classic Queen.[4] In 2007, Rollins became the first female speaker at the College Station Aggie Muster, which honors deceased Texas A&M former students.[4]
Rollins earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law, graduating with honors.[5]
Career
After graduating from law school, Rollins worked for several years at Hughes & Luce, LLP in Dallas and clerked under U.S. Federal District Court judge Barbara M. Lynn. Rollins previously served as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director to Texas governor Rick Perry.[4]
Rollins was the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an Austin-based conservative think tank, from 2003 through 2018.[6] During her tenure at TPPF, the think tank grew from having a staff of three to a staff of 100.[7]
In 2011, Texas Monthly named Rollins one of the 25 most powerful Texans.[8]
Trump administration
Office of American Innovation
In February 2018, Rollins replaced Reed Cordish as Trump’s assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives and as a member of the Office of American Innovation.[9]
Rollins was influential in encouraging the passage of the First Step Act, legislation that reforms the nation’s prison system and seeks to reduce recidivism. The First Step Act was signed into law by President Trump in December 2018.[10]
Domestic Policy Council
In May 2020, President Trump named Rollins acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council.[11][12][13]
In her first public interview as acting director of the Domestic Policy Council, Rollins said she was focused on bringing “together all sides of the table to figure out how we can move forward together.”[14] She said the U.S. “is a nation in mourning for the senseless death of George Floyd and the senseless loss of livelihood all over this country.” Rollins struck an optimistic tone on the country’s future, saying “this is America and we have been through difficult times before. We are a nation of doers and believers and dreamers, and we are a nation where if anybody tells us to step back, we step three feet forward.”[14]
Amid nationwide protests and racial unrest, Rollins said “we need everyone to rise above the division and the divide and come together.” She said the White House was “working through a list of solutions and possibilities, bipartisan. How do we come together? How do we use this as a unifying force for this country?”[15]
At an event announcing the signing of the new order, President Trump said his goal was to maintain law and order as well as justice and safety. He said “Reducing crime and raising standards are not opposite goals. They are not mutually exclusive. They work together.” According to Politico, the order was crafted “in consultation with police officers, mayors, conservative African Americans, faith-based leaders and the families of victims.”[16]
Post-Trump administration
After Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, Rollins and Larry Kudlow began forming a new nonprofit organization focused on continuing to promote Trump’s public policies.[17] Rollins is the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, founded in 2021 to promote Trump’s public policy agenda.[18]
Rollins is a leader of the Save America Coalition, launched in 2021 to oppose Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic proposal.[19]
Secretary of Agriculture
Nomination
On November 23, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his intent to nominate Rollins to be Secretary of Agriculture.[20] If confirmed, she will be the second woman to hold the position, after Ann Veneman.[21]
Political positions
Rollins is an advocate of criminal justice reform.[22]
See also
References
- ^ “Glen Rose native taking advisor post in White House”.
- ^ Dearman, Eleanor (May 29, 2024). “A shift to the right: Challengers win Republican Fort Worth area House runoffs”. Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- ^ Nelson, Kriss (November 27, 2024). “Brooke Rollins nominated as U.S. agriculture secretary”. Iowa Soybean Association.
- ^ a b c Lim, Cherie; Lankes, Chelsea (April 20, 2007), “Aggies to gather for Muster, first woman SBP to speak”, The Battalion, College Station, Texas, archived from the original on October 10, 2007, retrieved October 31, 2007
- ^ Svitek, Patrick (February 27, 2018). “Glen Rose native taking advisor post in White House”. Glen Rose Reporter. Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ Svitek, Patrick (February 16, 2018). “Texas Public Policy Foundation head Brooke Rollins to join White House”. Teas Tribune. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ Drusch, Andrea (February 16, 2018). “Fort Worth’s Rollins joins Kushner-run White House post”. Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ Smith, Evan (January 18, 2011). “Texas Monthly’s 25 Most Powerful Texans”. Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ^ O’Connell, Jonathan (February 16, 2018). “Trump tech adviser Reed Cordish is leaving the White House”. Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ Drusch, Andrea (December 18, 2018). “White House green-lights Texas think tank’s ideas, irking Capitol Hill Republicans”. Star Telegram. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ Haberman, Maggie (May 14, 2020). “Trump to Name Brooke Rollins as Domestic Policy Adviser”. New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ Samuels, Brett (May 20, 2020). “Trump taps Brooke Rollins as acting domestic policy chief”. The Hill. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ “How chatter and conservative anger upended a White House staffing search”. POLITICO. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Halon, Yael (June 7, 2020). “White House’s Brooke Rollins commits to ‘renewing,’ ‘restoring’ policing amid George Floyd unrest”. Fox News. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Forgey, Quint (June 1, 2020). “Trump’s domestic policy chief says White House ‘working through’ proposals to unify country”. Politico. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Cook, Nancy (June 15, 2020). “Trump’s answer to nationwide protests: Police-friendly reforms”. Politico. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ Isenstadt, Alex (December 22, 2020). “Senior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group”. Politico. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ Montgomery, David (October 10, 2022). “Analysis | What Will Happen to America if Trump Wins Again? Experts Helped Us Game It Out”. Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ Stein, Jeff (September 16, 2021). “Former Trump aides to spearhead multimillion-dollar campaign against Biden economic plan”. Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Restuccia, Andrew; Leary, Alex (November 23, 2024). “Trump Chooses Brooke Rollins to Lead Agriculture Department”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
- ^ Bustillo, Ximena (November 23, 2024). “Trump taps Brooke Rollins of America First Policy Institute for agriculture secretary”. NPR. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
- ^ Kirell, Andrew. “White House Hires Prison-Reform Activist as a Trump Assistant”. Daily Beast. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
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