What's next for Brooke Rollins

Politico

03-03-2025

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QUICK FIX
— Donald Trump is expecting to introduce sweeping tariffs this week — and farmers are closely watching Brooke Rollins.
— USDA is establishing a new program to release billions in aid to agricultural producers.
— DOGE's cuts are also jeopardizing California farmers' ability to access water.
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Driving the day
ROLLINS TAKES ON TARIFFS: As Trump gears up to roll out his sweeping tariff threats, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is promising farmers she'd be 'in the room' to protect them from the economic repercussions.
Speaking to producers and industry groups at the Commodity Classic in Colorado yesterday, Rollins promised to support farmers in the face of tariffs, the department's overhaul and the 'Make America Healthy Again' push.
Trump's tariffs: Rollins has said she'll bail out farmers who are targets for any retaliation as a result of Trump's tariff threats, as former USDA chief Sonny Perdue did during the first Trump administration. (Though MA readers will recall the bucket of funds to do so are running low.)
Trump pledged last week to enforce his planned 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting tomorrow, after both were put on pause in February. It's unclear how final the president's decision might be, as our colleagues reported.
'I know firsthand how important trade is to your success,' Rollins told producers Sunday. 'And I am committed, as a very top priority, to work with this president to travel this world and expand market access for all of our crops and all of our producers.'
Funding freezes: Rollins also told farmers she would release funds under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, acknowledging farmers' worries about the major federal spending freeze.
USDA has paused much of its spending that was already allocated to farmers and programs, causing chaos and uncertainty among those who weren't sure if they'd get the money they expected.
It's unclear if Rollins' announcement referred to the $20 million in already-unfrozen funds or marked a second tranche of funding released.
'I know this review process has caused concern,' Rollins said. 'And I don't say any of this flippantly. I know that among you who have participated in longstanding USDA programs, in many instances, you had no way of knowing whether these programs were funded through the farm bill or through the latest IRA funds from Joe Biden.'
Department overhaul: USDA is also working (and struggling) to rehire some employees who handle the bird flu response and loans for farmers. They're also facing a major 'reduction in force' effort and are requiring employees to come back to USDA headquarters, as Rollins touted yesterday.
'My team will be available to answer your calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week,' Rollins said. 'And if not, give me their name, because as you may have heard, our team is now seeing a little bit of reduction in force across the federal government.'
More economic aid: USDA will also be launching the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, a new program the department will use to release $31 billion in economic and disaster aid allocated by Congress. Rollins said they're on track to roll out the $10 billion in economic aid to farmers in coming weeks and are focusing on streamlining applications for producers to receive disaster relief dollars.
On MAHA: The secretary also said she will protect farmers' interests during discussions about policy updates to make, as farmers and food industry leaders worry about potential bans on some pesticides and GMOs.
'As we speak on efforts to make America healthy again, I am certain that we will do so in a way that does not compromise you and your farms and your farming practices,' Rollins said.
Bird flu: Rollins also unveiled her initial plan to respond to the bird flu outbreak last week. But some egg producers and lobbying groups are urging USDA to keep working harder on plotting a poultry vaccine response, which they argue could be vital to protecting the industry from ruin.
USDA is still negotiating with other countries like Turkey to get deals to import more eggs into the U.S.
What did you do last week? USDA employees also received new requests from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to send in what they did last week, according to a copy of the email viewed by MA.
Public-sector employees across the government, who have been buffeted in recent weeks by large-scale firings orchestrated by DOGE, received emails late Friday with an ominous subject line: 'What did you do last week? Part II.'
USDA has since instructed employees to keep their responses short and avoid including classified information, links or attachments. The department previously told employees that replying to the email is voluntary and that there will be no penalties for non-response.
On The Hill
WHAT'S NEXT FOR RECONCILIATION: Both chambers have passed their budget resolutions, kickstarting the process for Republicans to enact their sweeping policy agenda. But now they have to settle on exactly how much they can trim from agriculture spending.
The House's plan would require the Agriculture Committee to find $230 billion in savings, which is expected to come largely from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Some House Republicans are worried that deep cuts could threaten benefits or doom farm bill talks, but are watching to make sure the $230 billion target comes down enough to prevent any major issues.
The Senate budget plan set a floor of $1 billion in cuts from the Agriculture Committee — and Republicans in that chamber won't have enough support for cutting SNAP anywhere close to the House's target.
Another thing to watch: Trump and GOP leaders are strategizing how to score and eventually count the revenue from tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China as part of their plans for a deficit-neutral bill.
HOUSE AG MEMBERSHIP FINALIZED: Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) are officially back on the House Ag Committee this Congress. House Democrats finalized waivers for members to fill up the Ag Committee's two open Democratic slots.
Several Democrats who were on the panel last Congress — including a couple of senior members — will not be on the committee this year: Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Greg Casar (Texas), Darren Soto (Fla.) and Sanford Bishop (Ga.).
SENATE DEMS ASK: Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee, and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) led 13 other Democrats in writing to Rollins to encourage the swift disbursal of disaster assistance for farmers.
The senators pointed to tariff threats and other economic concerns farmers are facing as they prepare for the coming months.
'Farmers are making decisions right now about fertilizer usage and their crop mix and are working with their bankers to figure out if they can secure the financing they need to continue farming this year,' they wrote.
Congress passed $21 billion in disaster relief and $10 million in economic aid for farmers at the end of 2024.
DOGE WATCH
WATER WOES IN THE GOLDEN STATE: DOGE-ordered firings at the federal agency responsible for delivering water to farms and cities across California are getting in the way of Trump's order to maximize the state's water supplies, our Annie Snider and Camille von Kaenel write.
The Bureau of Reclamation's California office has lost 10 percent of its staff due to buyouts and orders by Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency to fire short-tenured employees, according to three people close to the office who were granted anonymity because they feared retaliation.
DOGE's cuts are already hurting Reclamation's ability to move water through a sprawling system of pumps, canals and reservoirs to roughly a third of the state's farmland — and impeding the agency's ability to ratchet up deliveries in line with Trump's demand, the people said.
The sharp cuts' impact on a dusty corner of the federal bureaucracy that has taken outsized importance in the president's mind offers a case study in how DOGE's bulldozer approach stands to upend one of the president's dearest policy goals.
Trump's long-running feud with state Democrats over water restrictions escalated in January when the president falsely linked hydrants that had run dry during the Los Angeles wildfires to those restrictions. His first month in office was marked by an obsessive focus on the state's water issues, with the White House issuing not one, but two executive orders on the topic and ordering an abrupt water dump from a pair of dams.
Row Crops
— Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) said she's working with Trump's legislative affairs team to obtain water that's owed to the U.S. by Mexico. The missing water deliveries, as required under a 1944 treaty, has hurt citrus and sugar farmers in South Texas.
— The Senate Ag Committee still hasn't received paperwork required to move forward with Stephen Vaden's nomination to be deputy secretary of USDA.
— Leaders of 1890 universities wrote to congressional leaders in support of USDA-funded ag research and the 1890 National Scholars Program, which was paused and unpaused by the department recently.
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