Brooke Rollins Bio
Brooke Leslie Rollins (born April 10, 1972) is an American attorney, political official, and former think tank executive who has served as the 33rd United States Secretary of Agriculture since February 2025. A Republican from Texas, she is the second woman to hold the position after Ann Veneman. Before joining the federal government, Rollins built a career in Texas public policy and served in the first Trump administration.
Raised on a farm in the small town of Glen Rose, Texas, Rollins turned her rural roots into a policy career that took her from the Texas statehouse to Washington, D.C. She has been a leading voice on agricultural, regulatory, and conservative policy issues for more than two decades, and she now leads the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) under President Donald Trump.
Early Life and Background
Brooke Leslie Rollins was born in Glen Rose, Texas, a small community located outside Fort Worth. She grew up on a family farm, an experience that shaped her lifelong interest in agriculture and rural America. Her mother, Helen Kerwin, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2024, making the family a multi-generational presence in state and national politics.
Rollins attended Glen Rose High School, where she took part in Future Farmers of America, 4-H, and rose to become a state officer for the Texas FFA Association. These early activities gave her hands-on experience in agricultural advocacy and leadership, and helped set the stage for her future work in farm and food policy.
After high school, Rollins enrolled at Texas A&M University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural development in 1994. She made history as the first woman elected student body president at Texas A&M, and she also served as speaker pro tempore of the Student Senate, chair of the Texas A&M Judicial Court, a Fish Camp counselor, and Cotton Bowl Classic Queen. In 2007, she became the first female speaker at the College Station Aggie Muster, an annual event that honors deceased Texas A&M former students. She later earned a Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.
Path to US Politics
Following law school, Rollins worked as a commercial litigator at Hughes & Luce, LLP in Dallas, and clerked for U.S. Federal District Court Judge Barbara M. Lynn in the Northern District of Texas. She then moved into public service as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director for Texas Governor Rick Perry, gaining direct experience in state-level policymaking.
In 2003, Wendy Gramm, a professor at Texas A&M and wife of U.S. Senator Phil Gramm, recruited Rollins to lead the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), an Austin-based conservative think tank. Under her leadership from 2003 to 2018, TPPF grew from a staff of three to a staff of one hundred. In 2011, Texas Monthly named her one of the 25 most powerful Texans. During her tenure, the foundation advocated for ending farm subsidies and opposed ethanol fuel requirements.
Brooke Rollins Career
Early Career (1994–2003)
Rollins began her professional life in the legal field, first as a litigator at Hughes & Luce, LLP in Dallas and then as a law clerk for Judge Barbara M. Lynn of the U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas. These early roles built her foundation in law, federal court procedure, and the ethics of public service.
She then transitioned into state government, serving Governor Rick Perry as deputy general counsel, ethics advisor, and policy director. Working closely with a Republican governor on major Texas issues gave Rollins deep experience in executive policymaking and prepared her to run a major policy organization.
Breakthrough (2003–2018)
Rollins’s major breakthrough came in 2003, when she was named president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She led the organization for fifteen years, transforming it into one of the most influential state-level conservative think tanks in the country. During this period, the foundation took strong positions on agricultural policy, including opposing farm subsidies and ethanol mandates.
Her growing influence earned her recognition as one of the most powerful people in Texas politics. In February 2018, it was reported that she would replace Reed Cordish in the Office of American Innovation, and she joined the first Trump administration as its director. She was later named assistant to the president for strategic initiatives on September 6, 2018. Rollins played a key role in encouraging the passage of the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform law signed by President Trump in December 2018.
Republican Era (2018–Present)
In May 2020, President Trump appointed Rollins as acting director of the United States Domestic Policy Council. In her first public interview in that role, she said the White House was focused on finding bipartisan solutions following the murder of George Floyd and wanted to make the response a unifying force for the country. She continued serving in the administration until the end of Trump’s first term.
After leaving government, Rollins co-founded the America First Policy Institute in 2021 with Larry Kudlow. The conservative think tank helped plan the policy agenda for a second Trump administration and filed election lawsuits in battleground states. Rollins served as its president and CEO until March 2025. She also led the Save America Coalition, launched in 2021 to oppose President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic proposal. On November 23, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated her to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced her nomination unanimously on February 3, 2025, and the full Senate confirmed her on February 13, 2025, by a 72–28 vote. She was sworn in as the 33rd Secretary of Agriculture by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on the same day.
Notable Events and Milestones
As Secretary of Agriculture, Rollins has taken on several signature policy battles. In January 2025, she told Senator Joni Ernst that she would work with Congress on legislation to preempt state animal welfare laws, and she has since supported a federal lawsuit against California’s Proposition 12 and Proposition 2. In June 2025, she announced the end of the federal “roadless rule,” a regulation that had prevented road construction on 58 million acres of national forest land, and in August 2025 moved forward with ending the rule on roughly 45 million acres. On January 9, 2026, she announced that the USDA was suspending financial awards to the state of Minnesota and the city of Minneapolis in response to what the agency described as widespread and systemic fraud in federal benefit programs.
Brooke Rollins Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Brooke Leslie Rollins comes from a family with deep roots in rural Texas and a growing presence in state politics. She was raised on a farm in Glen Rose, Texas, and her early involvement in Future Farmers of America and 4-H reflected the agricultural foundation of her family. Her mother, Helen Kerwin, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2024, continuing a tradition of public service that now spans two generations.
Personal Life
Rollins is married to Mark Rollins. Together, the couple has four children. Her experience as a farm-raised mother and policy leader has often shaped her public focus on rural families, food production, and small-town America.