Trump Won’t Save America; You Will.

A red wave has washed over the country, and with the re-election of President Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States, all eyes are on his cabinet appointments and what they might mean for the direction the country is headed in for the next four years. 

To date, Trump has selected Rep. Elise Stefanik as the UN Ambassador; Governor Kristi Noem as the Secretary of Homeland Security; Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State; Mike Huckabee as the Ambassador to Israel; John Ratcliffe as CIA Director; Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary; Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence; Matt Gates as Attorney General; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services; Doug Collins as Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Todd Blanche as Deputy of Attorney General, Dean John Bauer as Solicitor General; and Governor Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary — all of which require a confirmation by the Senate.

Additionally, Trump has appointed and confirmed Representative Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor; Stephen Miller as Deputy Chief of Staff; Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff; Tom Human as the Border Czar; and most recently, former Congressman Lee Zelda to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

Perhaps most notable in Trump appointments is Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk being called upon to run a new agency — the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — which promises to slash and eliminate the wasteful spending at the federal level in order to “fix America.”

Farmers and ranchers are anxiously awaiting the appointment of the Secretary of Ag position, with several candidates being mentioned as contenders for the top spot at the USDA. These rumored names include: Representative Thomas Massie, Gregg Dodd, Zippy Duvall, Charles Herbster, Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller, Ray Starling, Aurelia Skipwith Giacometti, Kip Tom, Former House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway, current House Ag Chairman Representative Glenn Thompson, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ted McKinney, and Abel Maldonado.

I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum from the rural agricultural community on what these selections might mean — both good and bad — for farmers, ranchers, and our nation’s food supply.

And while the future remains uncertain, I know one thing we can all count on to happen in 2025 is that change is coming, whether we are ready for it or not.

As we wind down on 2024, I think it’s time for producers to buckle up and get ready for the ride. Although we can’t anticipate what changes might come in regulations, policy, department priorities, budgets, etc., the savvy entrepreneurs in agriculture are already anticipating what’s coming and bracing for impact for maximum benefit in the years to come.

Will Trump really defund the Green New Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act? What does tapping both South Dakota and North Dakota Governor’s mean for the boondoggle carbon sequestration pipeline projects, that both Noem and Borghum are deeply embedded in?

Will Kennedy really shift the direction of food policy to promote meat, dairy, eggs, and returning to cooking in beef tallow again instead of seed oils?

Will Vivek and Elon really eliminate the roles of countless bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and slow down the wildly out-of-control trillions in debt that America continues to accrue?

At this time, I have countless questions, but no certainty on answers, and time will reveal what Trump plans to do and accomplish in this second term as he returns to the White House in January. 

However, for we the people, I believe we have our own important role to play in the future direction of this country. We can be arm chair quarterbacks commentating on Facebook about the latest Trump appointments, or we can get to work being the change we want to see.

Sign up to be a precinct member. Go to your local county commissioner meetings. Attend a school board meeting. Run to chair or hold an office in your county party group. Testify in your state capitol. Contact your legislators and Congressmen. Put pressure on your elected officials, and demand transparency and accountability. Live out the Constitution each and every day. 

Trump won’t “Save America.” We will. So don’t grow apathetic now that the election is over. Get to work to ensure that American agriculture and rural America will thrive for generations to come. The results are on you and I. Let’s get to work.