Former Trump policy adviser now expected to be pick for Agriculture secretary
By Alayna Treene, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes and Shania Shelton, CNN
(CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump is now expected to name one of his former policy advisers, Brooke Rollins, as his pick for secretary of the Department of Agriculture, three sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
While the nomination is expected, nothing is official until Trump announces it.
CNN reported Friday that Trump was poised to offer the post to businesswoman and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon. There had been several discussions between Loeffler and the transition team regarding the position. But Trump held off from announcing his Agriculture pick as he issued a slew of others Friday night, raising questions about whether Loeffler was ultimately offered the post.
Rollins is the CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group with close ties to Trump’s transition team, and has been a vocal supporter of the president-elect.
She congratulated Trump following his election win earlier this month, saying in a post on X, “We love you, Mr. President, and we are so proud to continue the battle for an America built around your America First vision.”
Rollins’ name had previously been floated as a potential White House chief of staff. But Rollins stood down after it became clear that seeking the role would amount to a serious power struggle with Susie Wiles, who was ultimately named for the position.
Rollins told the transition team that Agriculture secretary would be another role she would be interested in, one source familiar said. Trump and Rollins spoke this week about the role.
In Trump’s first term, Rollins served as White House Domestic Policy Council director. Before that, she was president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank, for 15 years.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Rollins’ expected nomination.
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