Trump Agriculture Secretary Rollins promises 'real relief' on affordability coming soon

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared on Monday during an interview about affordability that the American dream is making a comeback under the Trump administration and "real relief" was coming "very soon."

"But as we’re restructuring the entire economy, as we’re bringing down inflation, bringing down fuel, bringing down labor, Americans, we believe, will see real relief very, very soon. Those numbers are already down, but much more to come," she told CNBC.

"This administration has been incredibly focused on getting the American dream back into every American’s home and goals, et cetera. And affordability is a huge piece of that. Of course, I’m the agriculture secretary. So food, food production, supporting our farmers and ranchers is a big piece," she said.

Affordability has been a dominant political topic in 2025, with Democrats like Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race successfully touting addressing price concerns on the campaign trail. President Donald Trump was elected in 2024 in part on frustration with inflation and affordability under the Biden administration, but new polls show impatience with his economic stewardship.

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Rollins said that the previous administration was a different story.

"And when you look at under Joe Biden the last four years, we had an increase in inputs, interest rates, 73%, fertilizer, 36%, labor increased 47%… No new trade deals during those four years, no way to move the food out," she said. "So when you look at all of that in total, it’s no surprise that what we inherited was an absolute economic mess. But those numbers are coming down."

She added that nonetheless, "There are a few outliers. And you mentioned [Treasury Secretary [Scott] Bessent talked about a couple of those yesterday. We’re working on those extremely diligently."

In response to the trajectory of Trump's tariff agenda, Rollins explained that she has been at Trump’s side for a long time and has seen measurable results.

"His vision of realigning the entire world economy around putting American products first and America first, but also using tariffs as a really important economic tool to make sure that we are doing everything we can for our country and to keep our country at the top of the world," she said. "But what the president did was using these as economic tools, but also important foreign policy tools as well."

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She juxtaposed the Trump administration with the preceding Biden administration again, noting the variety of new trade deals that have emerged.

"What the president did with liberation day, with enacting all these tariffs back in February. We now have dozens of new trade deals, and within Indonesia, Australia, Japan, EU, England, it’s just remarkable. And a lot of these deals people tried for 20, 25 years to get these deals again. Under the last administration, we didn’t have one new trade deal. We went from an agriculture trade surplus under Trump to a deficit, $50 billion deficit in just agriculture," she said. "So think about the effects on our farmers and ranchers. $50 billion is a significant amount when you’re growing corn or soybeans or apples or whatever you’re growing. So being able to solve for that, which now we’re doing again, it’s incredible."

American farmers, she said, have been Trump’s priority since the beginning of his initial campaign and will be receiving forthcoming aid.

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The White House last week pointed to a bevy of deals Trump has made since his return to the Oval Office that underscore his focus on affordability for the American people: cutting regulations to unleash American energy to lower fuel and other costs, multiple deals to lower drug prices and attracting business to set up shop on U.S. soil to promote American jobs. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Associated Press, Trump White House return to court amid Gulf of America dispute

The Associated Press and Trump administration returned to court on Monday for a critical hearing in the ongoing First Amendment battle over the news-gathering service refusing to rename the "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" and its ensuing loss of access to critical White House coverage areas.

Trump signed an executive order renaming the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America" on his first day in office for a second term. But the Associated Press decided to continue to refer to the body of water by its original name, while acknowledging the new moniker chosen by Trump. The decision vexed Trump, who has blocked its reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One as a result. 

The AP is now fighting to have its access restored, and at stake is whether the president is allowed to dictate which reporters and news organizations are allowed to cover official events in places like the Oval Office based on viewpoint. 

INSIDE AP’S FIRST AMENDMENT BATTLE WITH TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE AS ‘GULF OF AMERICA’ DISPUTE HEADS BACK TO COURT

"If the president wants to invite particular people into the White House, because of their political views, I think the president is allowed to do that," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth argued on behalf of the administration. 

"The president routinely invites Republicans, and not Democrats, into the Oval Office for ceremonies," Roth continued. "Nobody thinks he has to extend those invitations on a view-point neutral basis."

Roth said that for the "same reasons," the president should be allowed to "invite favored reporters, and not disfavored reporters," to watch a ceremony in the Oval Office. 

Roth argued that the Oval Office and Air Force One are "invitation only," as opposed to the White House briefing room, which is a dedicated workplace for journalists. 

"When it is a matter of invitation, we don’t apply viewpoint neutrality principles," Roth said. 

The AP’s attorney, Charles Tobin, said the First Amendment "does not stop at the Oval Office door" when pushing for access to be restored. 

"Just like the president is not above the law, the Oval Office is not a First Amendment-banned forum for the purposes of conducting the president’s business," Tobin said. 

Tobin repeatedly mentioned that the White House press pool has a longstanding system for covering the White House, but judges pushed back and noted that the system has changed and evolved over the years. 

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Circuit Judges Robert Wilkins, Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao heard the arguments. An order is expected in the coming weeks. 

"Today AP once again stood up for the public's right to speak freely without government retaliation," an AP spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "That’s what we’ve been doing throughout this case — defending this fundamental freedom for all Americans and all those who value freedom of speech. The First Amendment doesn’t stop at the Oval Office door."

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

Associated Press senior vice president and executive editor Julie Pace told Fox News Digital ahead of the hearing that the decision to stick with the Gulf of Mexico is largely because the AP caters to a global audience, and consumers outside the United States don’t necessarily abide by Trump’s name change. She said coverage indicates the president has signed an executive order renaming that body of water. 

"We’re very clear about that, we have no intention of downplaying that. And I can fully understand why many people are choosing that name," Pace said. 

"But as a global news organization, we have to use language that has the widest possible application," she continued. "That’s Gulf of Mexico in this case." 

ASSOCIATED PRESS SAYS IT WAS BARRED FROM OVAL OFFICE OVER USE OF 'GULF OF MEXICO'

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, said in April that the White House acted against the First Amendment by blocking the AP's access over its refusal to use the term "Gulf of America." The Trump administration appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit paused McFadden’s order. 

Pace is hopeful the appeals court will reaffirm the ruling at the lower court that she called a "robust and powerful defense" of the First Amendment.

"This isn't even about the AP. This isn't about the press. This is about the First Amendment. And we hear regularly that conservatives and liberals and everybody in between really value this protection. And really, what's at stake here is whether the government can retaliate against you for the words you use," Pace told Fox News Digital

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES WHITE HOUSE'S ASSOCIATED PRESS BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL FOR 'VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION'

The Trump administration has previously said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House. The White House has said no media outlets are guaranteed special access to cover the president in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One, and in other sensitive locations.

"President Trump is the most transparent and accessible President in American history. The Trump White House’s changes to the press pool have all been additive, which is why we’ve expanded access to new media in an unprecedented way. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt has successfully ensured the White House press operation reflects the media habits of the American people in 2025, not 1925," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle previously told Fox News Digital. 

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