Earlier today, Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins spoke to reporters outside the White House.
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00:00Well, first and foremost, I'm the Secretary of Agriculture.
00:27These are not my lane.
00:28I'm going to be very careful not to weave into any lanes that are not mine, but I will
00:32say this.
00:33President Trump has utmost confidence in my colleagues in the Cabinet.
00:38I think that the pace at which we are winning on issues that the people of America voted
00:44on is absolutely unprecedented.
00:48There is no doubt that my friends, my colleagues, my family that are part of this Cabinet are
00:53the best, most patriotic, most impressive Americans I've ever been around and I'm so
00:58proud of them.
00:59And who just said that?
01:09I'm sorry.
01:10Oh, Secretary Kennedy.
01:12So here's what's important for all of us to realize across the government.
01:18And I think the Cabinet that President Trump has put together is truly unprecedented.
01:22And I've said this multiple times and that we're no longer working in our silos.
01:26We are working together on behalf and for all Americans.
01:30And so the question of vaccines and whether we're talking about vaccines in the poultry
01:34industry, vaccines across the agriculture industry, that at the end of the day, we have
01:39to think about more than just what those vaccines or therapeutics or what the research is showing,
01:45how that solves for a certain problem within that limited segment.
01:49So Secretary Kennedy's approach, and I agree with it, is we've got to think about this
01:53in an all-encompassing approach with the NIH, with the CDC, with the USDA, with Health and
02:00Human Services.
02:01So as we are moving forward, we move forward together.
02:04So as we are investing resources into figuring out how to solve this avian bird flu, which
02:09has been absolutely a disaster for our poultry industry, our egg layers especially, but we
02:15can't just make the decision on what that looks like just us over at the USDA building.
02:19We will work together.
02:21I am encouraged at the research that is happening from the private sector and in looking at
02:25the right way to move forward.
02:28I'll take one more.
02:29Thanks a lot.
02:30Probationary employers, employees that got hired, they got a letter or an email that
02:31said, based on your performance, you have not demonstrated that you have further employment
02:32and the agency would be in the public interest.
02:33Is that really why they were hired?
02:34What does that mean?
02:35So the approach of DOJ, and we just had a cabinet meeting, which is the Department of
02:36which a lot of you joined us towards the end on Monday, and the most important bottom
02:51line is that the entire cabinet is aligned, is supportive, and understands the president's
02:56vision that is being effectuated by Elon Musk and in partnership with all of the agencies.
03:01Of course, USDA, one of the largest agencies with over 100,000 employees, you've all heard
03:07me talk about some of the contracts that have been canceled, some of the reductions in force
03:11that we're doing.
03:12We will never stop working for the American people, the American farmers and ranchers,
03:16and ensuring that what we're doing is in their best interest.
03:21So as we continue forward, we map those plans out.
03:24This will perhaps only be a couple more months, two, three, four months, while we're looking
03:28at what that realignment and reduction in force looks like.
03:32And then we begin the rebuild.
03:33Listen, the final thing I'll say is that as the reducing in force is happening, one thing
03:37that I think is really important that the media has not reported on as much is the trillion
03:42dollars in new jobs and manufacturing that's now being onshored under this president in
03:47the last two months.
03:48The private sector is about to explode with new jobs and new opportunities in those areas.
03:54And so the opportunity for those who did work for government to now perhaps move into more
03:59productive opportunities for themselves, for their families, for their jobs, and for
04:04this country, I believe will be unprecedented.
04:07Thank y'all so much.
04:08Thank y'all.
04:09I'm so grateful.