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While Brooke Rollins would be in a prime position as Secretary of Agriculture to help family farmers across the nation address the devastating effects of climate change, her unwillingness to acknowledge the problem raises serious concerns about her ability to confront this critical issue. In the last ten years, Rollins has had a hard time acknowledging climate change is even impacting the lives of Americans. In 2014, Rollins stated that “there’s been no warming in 17 years.” During the first Trump Administration, Rollins also supported withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and refuting the expert opinions of U.S. government scientists. One area where Rollins had shown more liberal bona fides is in criminal justice reform. Rollins supported the overhaul of the justice system Trump signed into law in 2018 and helped draft an executive order encouraging police reform during the Black Lives Matter protests. Some of these positions have led to criticisms from the most pro-Trump wing of the party, who considers Rollins just another “Bush Republican.” |
Brooke Rollins In October 2014: “There’s Been No Warming In Over 17 Years.” “Broke Rollins: There’s been no warming in over 17 years. So all of this discussion about shutting down certain parts of our energy industry is nothing short of a disaster for the economy.” [Texas Policy Foundation, “Mini Documentary: Energy Policy And Poverty,” 10/14/14] 00:01:43 - 00:01:57
2017: Brooke Rollins Supported President Trump’s Decision To Withdraw From The Paris Climate Agreement By Arguing The Treaty Hurts Efforts To Fight Global Terrorism. According to an opinion by Brooke Rollins and Chip Roy, “It may confound the global War on Terror. In his recent Saudi Arabia speech, Trump rightly declared that, when it comes to the survival of the free world, defeating Islamist terrorism is “history’s greatest test.” Our potential success on that test is threatened by the staggering financial cost of supplanting fossil fuels that now account for approximately 90 percent of the world’s energy consumption. Then there is the U.N.’s Green Climate Fund that assumes annual contributions of $100 billion from prosperous countries to help poor countries ‘combat climate change.’ [...] Instead of deferring to the status quo, we strongly encourage Trump to opt out of the Paris climate agreement. The U.S. needs time to conduct a vigorous assessment of current climate science, climate policies and the Paris agreement. Before we dismantle the energy systems that have vastly improved human welfare over the last two centuries, the American people deserve an alternative energy future that leverages American resources to protect real environmental quality, to enhance human well-being and to make the world a safer place.” [Brooke Rollins and Chip Roy - Hill, 6/1/17]
2019: Brooke Rollins Endorsed Idea to Refute The 2018 National Climate Assessment. According to DeSmog, "Rollins endorsed an idea proposed by National Security Council official Will Happer to present an official refutation of the 2018 National Climate Assessment, possibly going so far as to force scientists from NASA and NOAA to participate. Earlier efforts to conduct a 'red team, blue team' debate between climate change skeptics and scientists who hold to the fact-based consensus viewpoint were also floated by former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt. Though there was pushback from some administration officials, efforts remained underway to create, at minimum, a series of white papers laying out the administration’s rejection of key elements of the NCA. E&E reported: 'The scaled-back goal of the current plan is to provide a back-and-forth examination of climate science in which researchers who question mainstream conclusions about warming would perform equivalently with scientists representing the vast majority of experts who accept that human activity is raising temperatures. The exercise could produce a series of white papers from both sides, essentially establishing a formal record of climate contrarianism. 'The papers could act as a ‘correction’ or addendum to the National Climate Assessment released last year, according to one source. 'The National Climate Assessment has been peer-reviewed and is based on the work of hundreds of studies.' Those involved in talks about the initiative included John Christy and Judith Curry. Also, Paul Robinson—who E&E notes 'oversaw talks about nuclear weapons tests with the Soviet Union during the Cold War but who is not trained in climate science'—would possibly lead the initiative." [DeSmog, Accessed 1/2/25]
2018: Brooke Rollins Was Heavily Involved In Formulating The Criminal Justice Reform Bill First Step Act. According to POLITICO, "It was not a cushy or high-visibility post, but it gave Rollins a chance to operate behind the scenes on her signature issue, criminal justice reform. Throughout 2018, Rollins worked closely with Kushner and policy adviser Ja’Ron Smith to build support on Capitol Hill for Kushner’s criminal justice reform package — as well as to beat back opposition from within the administration, led by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Kushner and Rollins eventually prevailed, with Trump signing a slate of bipartisan prison and sentencing reforms into law as the First Step Act in December 2018." [POLITICO, 10/25/24]
2020: Brooke Rollins Helped Draft An Executive Order On Police Reform That Was Criticized By Some Trump Advisors For Not Pushing Back Hard Enough On Black Lives Matter Protestors. According to POLITICO, "Her job was further complicated by the onset of the Black Lives Matter protests, which exacerbated a growing rift in the White House over Kushner’s criminal justice reform push. Ahead of the November elections, a group of Trump’s advisers had been urging Trump to distance himself from the First Step Act, arguing that the reform bill was 'a total dud' politically. But as the protests spread, and a serious divide opened up among senior White House officials about how Trump should respond, Rollins struck a more conciliatory tone, acknowledging the existence of 'potentially systemic injustice issues' in the United States and calling on Americans to 'rise above the division and the divide and come together.' In mid-June, Trump signed an executive order — which Rollins helped draft — incentivizing a slate of police reforms at the local and state levels. (A spokesperson for AFPI denied Rollins’ involvement in drafting the executive order, which was widely reported at the time.) Trump’s decision to sign the order angered many of his allies, who blamed Rollins for what they saw as the White House’s insufficiently forceful response to the protests." [POLITICO, 10/25/24]
2024: Politico Reported That Brooke Rollins Is Viewed Suspiciously By The Nationalist Trump Wing For Her Bush-Like Conservative Stances. According to POLITICO, "Among the nationalist-populist wing of the GOP, Rollins and her allies at AFPI are viewed as the rump faction of the old Republican establishment, dedicated to preserving the pre-Trump political orthodoxy that prioritizes free trade, deregulation, business-friendly economic policies and an expansive role for the U.S. on the global stage. During her stint in the Trump White House — which Rollins joined in 2018 as director of the little-known Office of American Innovation before becoming acting director of the Domestic Policy Council in 2020 — Rollins allied herself with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was widely viewed as the leader of the White House’s more centrist and corporatist faction. With Kushner’s support, Rollins elevated criminal justice reform as a major issue within the Trump White House, putting her at odds with Trump’s more hardline advisers. [...] "'She is a Bush conservative,' said a former Trump administration official, who was granted anonymity to discuss their experience working with Rollins. 'She’s an unrepentant H.W. [Bush], Rick Perry [conservative] — that’s her ideology.' [...] Rollins’ more conventional posture has raised questions about the motives behind her rise through the Trumpian ranks. In the eyes of her allies, her ascent has been fueled by her managerial competence and unwavering loyalty to the former president. To her skeptics, she’s pursuing something more elemental: 'Power,' as one conservative insider familiar with the transition put it." [POLITICO, 10/25/24]