On Thursday, February 13, 2025, President Trump nominee Brooke Rollins, J.D. was confirmed as the 33^rd U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by the U.S. Senate in a vote of 72 to 28. She will oversee the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Prior to being sworn in as Secretary of Agriculture, Ms. Rollins served as the Founder, President, and CEO of the America First Policy Institute (AFPI). During President Trump’s first administration, she was the Director of the Domestic Policy Council and Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives in the White House. She also previously served as Director of the Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she developed and managed the domestic policy agenda of the Trump Administration.

Ms. Rollins received her B.S. from Texas A&M University and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Before earning her J.D., she served as former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s policy director before running the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) for 15 years.

The day after being sworn in, in a statement from USDA, Ms. Rollins alluded to an “aggressive plan to optimize its workforce by eliminating positions that are no longer necessary.” As of February 17, probationary employees (who have yet to qualify for civil service protections) in USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and Economic Research Service (ERS) have been dismissed. 

The firings at USDA are in line with actions taken at other federal public health agencies overseeing U.S. food safety and foodborne illness response, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where employees have received notices that their positions were being eliminated. FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods James (Jim) Jones has submitted his resignation, citing 89 "indiscriminate" layoffs in the Human Foods Program that would hinder the effectiveness of the agency. 

Update, February 25, 2025: According to multiple sources, FDA and USDA are looking to re-hire some employees who were dismissed by the presidential administration, including staffers responsible for reviewing food ingredient safety and avian influenza response.

Update, February 28, 2025: USDA is apparently struggling to convince fired employees responsible for avian flu response to come back to the administration, reported Politico. "Roughly a quarter of employees in a critical office testing for the disease were cut, as well as scientists and inspectors. The dismissals have already helped trigger a partial shutdown at one of the department’s research facilities, according to two USDA employees, interrupting some workers’ efforts to fight bird flu and help livestock recover from illness. Now, agency officials are running into logistical challenges in reinstating its bird flu staff — and convincing them to return to jobs," stated Politico. Significantly, without addressing plans to re-staff the agency, USDA announced on February 26 that it intends to address the ongoing HPAI H5N1 outbreak with up to $1 billion in investments, including up to $500 million to support farm biosecurity and up to $100 million for the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and other protection strategies for layer chickens.

Update, March 5, 2025: Following mass layoffs that swept regulatory agencies, including those responsible for food safety and foodborne illness response, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has walked back its orders to fire probationary employees at federal agencies.