Who is Brooke Rollins? Trump's agri secretary at heart of tariff policy debate

US agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins, who took up the charge previous month, has stirred fresh debate over the future of US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs after her recent TV appearance. Rollins was seen dodging direct questions on whether the levies would remain in place.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, the agri secretary repeatedly stepsided anchor Jake Tapper’s attempts to pin down the administration’s long-term trade strategy.

Tapper asked, “How long do you expect this tariff chaos is going to be going on? Thirty days? Sixty days? Ninety days?”

However, rather than commit to a timeline, Rollins reiterated the administration’s stance on putting American interests first.

She said that Trump’s tariff policies marked the beginning of a “new American order, the new American economic plan.”

“So I think we’ll see in short order a really positive outcome from this. We already have 50, five- zero, 50 countries that have come to the table over the last few days, over the last weeks, that are willing and desperate to talk to us.” she said.

“We are the economic engine of the world, and it’s finally time that someone, President Trump, stood up for America,” Rollins further added.

“Our goal is to protect American farmers and workers — full stop,” she said. “President Trump’s approach to trade is about fairness and strength. These policies are part of a larger effort to reset broken trade relationships that have left rural America behind for far too long.”

Earlier, Brooke Rollins, the US secretary of agriculture signed a major secretarial memo declaring an “emergency situation determination” across more than 112 million acres of national forest system land.

The move issued on April 4 (local time) follows an executive order by US President Donald Trump aimed towards increasing timber production by 25 per cent and is designed to give the US forest service the authority to fast-track emergency measures to reduce wildfire risks.

Who is Brooke Rollins?

• Brooke Leslie Rollins was officially sworn in as the 33rd secretary of agriculture in a private ceremony at the US supreme court.

• Hailing from Glen Rose, Texas, she graduated from Texas A&M University, earning a degree in agricultural development. She went on to become the institution’s first female student body president, and later obtained her law degree with honours from the University of Texas School of Law.

• Rollins presented a long and accomplished career in public policy, law, and agricultural advocacy to her new role.

• Her early political experience included serving as policy director for then-governor Rick Perry, followed by a 15-year tenure as president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). Rollins later founded and led the America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

• During President Trump’s first term, she served as director of the domestic policy council and assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, where she also directed the office of American innovation, shaping major policies that the administration hailed as transformative for American families and communities.

• Rollins and her husband, Mark, are parents to four children. The family lives in Fort Worth, Texas where much of their free time is spent at baseball games, cattle shows, piano recitals, and Aggie football matches.