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Tariff protections for farmers top concern during nomination hearing
U.S. Senate Ag Committee members are urging President Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture nominee to protect farmers from tariff retaliation.
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin encouraged Brooke Rollins to use her relationship with the president to find other solutions during Thursday’s confirmation hearing.
“Can you say that you will throw your body in front of the bus to make sure that any political talking point on tariffs that may sound good is actually truly tested against how it will impact our farmers like it was not last time around?” she questioned.
Rollins promised, “To ensure that our ag communities across this country are represented in those discussions and at the table and I will do everything in my power to elevate, preserve, honor, conserve that backbone of America.”
Senators also raised concerns about how tariff relief would be funded and distributed.
“I look forward to learning more about that and being committed to ensuring that, to the very, very best of our ability, that this is appropriately adjudicated,” Rollins said.
Rollins stressed the need for increased U.S. market access to counter tariff impacts and a growing ag trade deficit.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Rollins would oversee the USDA’s 29 agencies, its more than 106,000 federal employees, and a budget of more than $437 billion.
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