Rollins teeters on the edge of truth in latest House testimony

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins raised a few eyebrows with some of her comments Wednesday before the House Committee on Agriculture.

At one point during her testimony, she underscored the importance of crop protection tools — specifically glyphosate — to American agriculture, putting her directly at odds with fellow Cabinet member Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose Make America Healthy Again Commission recently released a 68-page report pointing to glyphosate and atrazine as key pesticides that are contributing to chronic health issues among America’s children.

“I have worked and have been unequivocal on the record how important these crop protection programs are — pesticides, specifically, glyphosate and others more specifically — and the president has as well. So, we will continue that,” Rollins told congressional members in defense of those products.

Interestingly, Rollins was one of the 14 commission members involved in drafting the MAHA report, which received massive pushback from agricultural groups as well as from the scientific community, especially as details emerged that many of the report’s citations were phony.

At this point, it’s unclear whether the majority of her support rests with her Wednesday testimony or with the MAHA Commission recommendations.

There’s also been some backlash over her statement that no one has been fired from the USDA since she took over, and her adding that 15,000 employees have taken Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) offers or some other retirement offer.

However there’s nuance here that she’s glossing over. Roughly 6,000 workers were fired in February from the agency — these workers were still in their probationary period and worked on a range of issues that keep America’s food system secure, from battling invasive crop diseases to funding the construction of sewer systems in rural areas. However, the month after they were told they were being let go, the courts called those firings unlawful and has ordered the USDA to reinstate them. So those weren’t technically permanent firings thanks to the courts.

The agency also reinstated multiple fired employees who are key to the nation’s bird-flu response, saying they were “mistakenly” dismissed in February.

And prior to Rollins taking office, USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong was part of a wave of firings of inspectors general across Cabinet-level agencies. Her dismissal was notable because she was a Republican appointee who had been in her role for 23 years.

Rollins seemed selective in her word choice about the firings, mostly toeing the line between what’s the truth and what’s a lie. 

Elsewhere throughout the hearing, Rollins spoke about work the U.S. Department of Agriculture has done to address egg prices, the threat of the New World Screwworm, and opening access to new markets. She also discussed Proposition 12 and the need to pass a farm bill.