Sarah Frey, founder of Frey Farms, and longtime Trump ally Charles Herbster are among the list of names President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping as his Agriculture secretary, according to four people familiar with the transition.
Both are GOP donors and outsiders to the federal government. Trump has yet to wade into final decisions about who will lead his USDA. But he faces a major question over how much influence he’ll allow Robert Kennedy Jr. to have at the Agriculture Department, given Kennedy’s antipathy to broad swathes of agribusiness.
Politically powerful, conservative-leaning agriculture groups are eager for Trump to slash regulations. But some of Kennedy’s biggest goals to ban or limit certain farming practices and unhealthy foods would require Trump to implement an entire regime of new regulations.
A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to an inquiry.
Trump allies have specifically raised Frey as someone who can appeal to both the mainstream conservative-leaning agriculture sector and supporters of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” push. Her self-founded company is the leading source of pumpkins in the country, earning Frey the nickname, “America’s Pumpkin Queen.”
Frey is generally well-liked among agriculture lobbyists on K Street and has participated in industry events that built on President Joe Biden’s 2022 White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health.
However, there is some deep apprehension on Capitol Hill about Frey’s ability to lead the massive Agriculture Department, given her lack of public sector experience and views on traditional agriculture. Several lawmakers privately said Frey tried to kill the GOP-led House farm bill this May, which sparked deep backlash among some Republicans.
Herbster, as POLITICO has reported, has been in the Agriculture secretary mix for some time. He is a longtime Trump ally and donor who has been involved in his campaigns and transition efforts since 2016. He also led Trump’s 2024 rural campaign coalition and owns a beef cattle farm in Nebraska.
Trump endorsed Herbster in his failed 2022 bid for Nebraska governor, sticking by Herbster even after he faced allegations of sexual assault from eight women, which he denies.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has compiled names for Trump’s USDA, for all the top Senate-confirmed positions at the request of the transition team. Trump privately raised Miller earlier this year as a leading Agriculture secretary prospect and he is on the current short-list as well, along with former Trump official Kip Tom.
Trump allies are also raising Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) to lead USDA. Hyde-Smith is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a former agriculture commissioner of Mississippi. Those Trump allies argue Republicans could easily fill her safely-red seat in the upper chamber.