On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump disclosed that he had appointed Brooke Rollins as the chief of the Department of Agriculture, thereby including another distinguished Texan in his cabinet.
Rollins, a Glen Rose native and president of the America First Policy Institute, has been a trusted ally of Trump since his 2016 campaign. She was a member of his Economic Advisory Council.Rollins was previously the director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank located in Austin.
Trump lauded her contributions during his first term, designating them as "incredible" in their capacity to advance his policy agenda.The USDA, a critical federal agency with a $213 billion budget and over 100,000 employees, has an impact on the food supply, agricultural practices, and nutrition assistance programs SNAP in the United States.
Rollins is the second Texan to be appointed to Trump's cabinet in the past few days. On Friday, President Trump appointed Scott Turner, a former Texas state representative, as the Housing and Urban Development Secretary.
Senate confirmation is required for both nominations to be effective.
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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo publicly criticized Annise Parker's campaign for county judge, urging Democratic voters not to support her and accusing Parker of aligning with political figures and policies at odds with party values.
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The longtime KTRK reporter Dave Ward died on Saturday at the age of 86. For more than 50 years, Ward's steady presence on Houston TV news made him famous. It was Ward's Guinness World Record to have worked at the same TV station in the same market for the longest time.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened a sweeping review of nearly 1,000 cities to determine whether they comply with state audit and financial transparency laws under Senate Bill 1851. Attorney General Ken Paxton has already ordered several cities to halt unlawful tax increases, and he may add more municipalities to the investigation.