With President-elect Donald Trump nominating former White House aide Brooke Rollins as his agriculture secretary, he completed his Cabinet picks.
Who is Brooke Rollins?
Brooke Leslie Rollins (52) would succeed Tom Vilsack, who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programmes related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition.
An attorney who graduated from Texas A&M University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural development, Rollins is a longtime Trump associate.
She served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency.
Rollins is the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
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She also worked as a litigation attorney in Dallas.
Rollins had described Trump as an "amazing boss".
Rollins is married to Mark and the couple has four kids.
Just two and half weeks after winning the US elections, Donald Trump completed his selection of the heads of executive branch departments. Now, the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, will have to confirm the nominations.
Though Trump did not specify agriculture policies during the campaign, farmers could be affected if he pledges to impose widespread tariffs.
Countries like China responded to Trump's tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on US exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war.
The United States Department of Agriculture was founded by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The department oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation's food supply.
