Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has been called out for her claims that the Trump administration has made “great achievements” in her department, which will usher in the “golden age” of farming.
“70% of American farmers can’t afford fertilizer. Expensive fertilizer means less food for a higher price. Nothing about that sounds ‘golden’ to me,” Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii blasted on X Sunday in response to the boast.
The wake-up call came in response to Rollins’ appearance on Mornings with Maria on May 7, in which she was asked about Trump’s then-upcoming trip to China and what she would like to see “out of this meeting.”
Asked about whether the trip was being delayed, Rollins told Bartiromo “I would never jump infront of my boss,” before beginning to tout her team’s achievements.
“What I will say, Maria, and this is one of the great achievements—a lot of achievements over the last 15 months but this is one of the greatest—18 new trade deals,” she said.
Rollins told the Fox News host: “And when you think about agriculture and opening up the markets, it’s unbelievable. Just yesterday we got even better news on trade.
“Our trade ag exports are up over five percent this year, in this month, in March and April versus where they were at the same time last year.”
Then she went on to make the statement that seemed to catch Hirono’s attention: “For our farmers and our ranchers, for farm security, for food security, making sure farmers can prosper as they move into what hopefully will be a golden age under this president, these trade deals are very important.
“But the president also understands that the over-reliance on a country like China has massive implications from a national security perspective.”
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rollins, 54, is currently facing heat from the National Federation of Federal Employees after the union filed a lawsuit accusing her of sending emails that promote her Christian beliefs and violate the First Amendment.
The lawsuit alleged that since becoming secretary in February last year, Rollins has sent a number of religious emails to roughly 90,000 USDA employees.
