The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Brooke Rollins as secretary of agriculture on Feb. 13, 2025. The Senate voted 72-28 in favor of her nomination with 19 Democrats joining all 53 Republicans in supporting her nomination. This was the 16th member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on Nov. 23, 2024, that he had selected Rollins as his nominee for secretary of agriculture. Trump said of Rollins’ nomination, “Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none.” The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held a confirmation hearing for Rollins on Jan. 23, 2025, and voted 23-0 to advance her nomination.

Rollins formerly worked as the president and chief executive officer of the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit founded by former Trump advisors. Rollins attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture development. She received a law degree from the University of Texas, and spent several years as a litigator with Hughes & Luce, L.L.P., in Dallas, Texas, focusing primarily on complex commercial litigation. Rollins is the former president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a free market public policy think tank, and formerly served as Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) deputy general counsel. During Trump’s first term, Rollins was the head of President Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and an assistant to the president in the Office of American Innovation.

Looking just at the main 15 Cabinet secretaries who are in the line of presidential succession, and excluding other Cabinet-level positions, Rollins was the twelfth of the main Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, nine of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

At this point in the Biden administration, six of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, 12 of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.

Additional reading: Confirmation process for Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees, 2025