Trump USDA pick puzzles ag groups

Nov 25, 2024

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By Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill

Presented by Main Street Competition Coalition

With help from Marcia Brown

Brooke Rollins speaks at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2024, in New York.

Trump announced that he’d nominate Brooke Rollins to be USDA secretary in a surprise pick Saturday. | Evan Vucci/AP

QUICK FIX

— President-elect Donald Trump has picked Brooke Rollins as his Agriculture secretary after weeks of intense internal fighting in the Trump transition team over the role. Her selection caught ag groups off guard, and they’re still trying to figure out where she stands on key issues.

— Lawmakers are pushing ahead negotiations for another farm bill extension, while House Democrats are mulling a leadership change.

— SNAP choice restrictions — preventing food aid benefits from being used to buy foods that aren’t “nutrient dense” — could get a MAHA boost during the second Trump administration.

IT’S MONDAY, NOV. 25. Welcome to Morning Agriculture. We’re your hosts Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill. Send tips to gyarrow@politico.com and meredithlee@politico.com and follow us @Morning_Ag.

A message from Main Street Competition Coalition:

Years of marketplace consolidation and lax antitrust enforcement have enabled massive firms to use their economic power to disadvantage smaller competitors and shut out rivals—transferring wealth from farmers, manufacturers, and consumers to their bottom lines. This unchecked consolidation has created chokepoints in the supply chain, leading to fewer choices and higher prices for consumers. Learn more at http://mainstreetcompetition.com.

Driving the day

TRUMP TAPS ROLLINS: Trump announced that he’d nominate Brooke Rollins to be USDA head in a surprise pick this weekend.

“She was the last person standing at Mar-a-Lago,” said a person familiar with the transition conversations who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Her background: Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration. Since her time in the White House, Rollins has co-founded and helmed the America First Policy Institute think tank, which played an influential role in the transition and has been referred to as Trump’s White House in waiting.

Ag experience: Rollins, who grew up on a farm, has less experience in agriculture policy than those on Trump’s shortlist.

Rollins is from Texas and has a degree in agricultural development. While some GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill were surprised by the pick, she’s expected to have a fairly smooth Senate confirmation.

Trump’s decision to tap her came amid bitter infighting over the role among his advisers, family members and powerful agriculture groups.

REACTIONS: The strongest immediate support for Rollins came from MAGA-aligned Republicans, like Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who said he looked forward to her confirmation: “I have no doubt you will work tirelessly to deliver for our farmers and ranchers.”

Iowa Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst also appeared supportive, as did top ag Republicans Sen. John Boozman (Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (Pa.).

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, in part said the group was “encouraged by her statement that she'd ‘fight for America’s farmers and our nation’s agricultural communities.’”

National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said he was “hopeful her rural roots instilled in her the important role family farmers and ranchers play in supporting our nation’s economy.”

But some progressive-leaning groups outright panned the pick.

“This appears to be another example of President-elect Trump doling out cabinet appointments for loyalty rather than expertise. Our nation’s farmers, food workers, consumers and the public servants at the USDA deserve a secretary who knows and cares about the challenges they face,” Karen Perry Stillerman, deputy director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement.

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On the Hill

FARM BILL EXTENSION: Democratic and Republican farm bill negotiators have started formal talks to negotiate a farm bill extension, formally giving up on pursuing a new authorization despite a last-minute push by Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Lawmakers only have a few legislative days left to strike a deal on an extension, before key farm bill commodity programs hit a policy cliff Jan. 1.

Ag lawmakers have been planning to attach a likely one-year extension of the current 2018 farm bill to a year-end stopgap funding package or another must-pass bill.

Republican and some Democratic lawmakers are also looking to attach several additional agriculture measures to the extension, including billions in economic assistance. More on that here.

Lawmakers are also working on a disaster aid package that will go through the appropriations committees. Ag lawmakers are working to include funds for farmers hit by Hurricane Helene and other recent natural disasters in that effort.

Another piece to watch: Some Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee are publicly signaling they’re open to a leadership change after Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) privately told colleagues he’d be challenging current ranking member David Scott (D-Ga.).

Scott has faced years of behind-the-scenes questioning about his ability to lead Democrats to a new farm bill.

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) is also mulling a run for Scott’s position, as Punchbowl News first reported. Ag lawmakers for more than a year now have had their eye on Craig and Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) as two members who may challenge Scott, but only if they were protected politically. Costa throwing his hat in the ring first offers that protection as lawmakers seek to oust the first Black congressional agriculture chair in history. “It’s never been a question about whether members want Scott replaced,” said one House Democratic aide. “It’s about how.”

“I think in our leadership this year, there's been some health challenges,” House Ag member Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) told MA last week. “Respecting and being sensitive to that, the question is on the table if we should reconsider new leadership moving forward. I'm giving it serious consideration.”

Read more from your hosts here.

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SNAP PILOT POSSIBILITY: Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said his controversial proposal to prevent federal SNAP food aid benefits from being used to buy foods that aren’t “nutrient dense” could get a boost under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” push.

Harris told Meredith last week that the MAHA movement was “absolutely” helping him build support for his pilot program — especially when Republicans take over next year.

Harris is well-positioned to push that measure in 2025. He chairs the Freedom Caucus and is the top House Republican overseeing USDA and FDA appropriations. He’s fought to attach his SNAP pilot measure to several spending bills, arguing it would rule out junk food and other unhealthy items from the program that serves more than 40 million low-income Americans.

Harris will have several opportunities next year to push his proposal. Republicans will have new leverage over the talks for the $1.5 trillion farm bill, a major reconciliation tax package and federal spending.

More context: Harris’ SNAP pilot is a key example of the policy fights ahead in Washington as the MAHA movement takes hold in GOP circles. Key progressives are generally embracing Kennedy’s push to crack down on food corporations while banning food additives and reducing pesticide use in farming. But while the two sides identify similar problems with the current U.S. food system, they don’t always agree on the policy solutions to achieve those reforms.

The opposition: Democrats, and several centrist Republicans, have continuously blocked Harris’ SNAP pilot from becoming law. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) called Harris’ push “cruel” during the most recent fight. Grocers also argue the new regulations would be too burdensome.

Harris would still have to navigate the measure through a narrow House GOP majority next year, after several centrist Republicans including Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) opposed adding the policy to a recent spending bill.

Executive action? But Trump can also bypass Congress and create the SNAP pilots in a way by himself. He could sign an executive order that emphasizes state flexibility, essentially allowing states to decide whether to implement such measures.

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Row Crops

— USDA extended the deadline for comments on its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking which is expected to inform a regulation tightening requirements for fed cattle markets.

— The CDC confirmed that a child in California has H5N1.

— Trump has tapped House Ag Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.) to serve as Labor secretary, a move that could bolster his credentials among organized labor.

— Officials launched a new online tool to help manage civil rights complaints at USDA.

— Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller, who helped select names for Trump’s ag officials, called raw milk a “storied” tradition in a recent opinion piece.

— An employee at a JBS beef plant in Arizona died.

— USDA announced new appointments for the Christmas Tree Promotion Board and the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

THAT’S ALL FOR MA! Drop us a line and send us your agriculture job announcements or events: gyarrow@politico.com, meredithlee@politico.com, marciabrown@politico.com, abehsudi@politico.com and ecadei@politico.com.

A message from Main Street Competition Coalition:

FTC Enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act is urgently needed. For decades, antitrust enforcers have neglected this critical statute, allowing dominant firms to leverage their size and market power to devastate Main Street businesses and raise consumer costs. This oversight has reduced competition and increased prices for essential goods. Enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act will restore genuine price competition across the economy, giving consumers more choices and access to lower prices for everyday essentials. By holding these massive firms accountable, the FTC can level the playing field, support businesses of all sizes, and enhance market fairness. It's time to prioritize the enforcement of this long-overlooked law to protect consumers, foster competition, and ensure a vibrant, diverse marketplace. Join the call for action and demand that the FTC enforce the Robinson-Patman Act to benefit all Americans. Learn more at http://mainstreetcompetition.com.