Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Bloomberg Television that wholesale egg prices are down almost 90% from where they stood under President Biden, and that grocery costs overall are back to a historical average of about 2.5% to 2.7% annual growth.
She made that case from the floor of the Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention, in her home state, standing next to the man the party is trying to elect to the Senate — while repeatedly stressing she was there in her "personal capacity," not as a sitting Cabinet secretary.
"In just a couple of years, we're back to historical averages of about 2.5%, 2.7% for food, and we're going to continue to see those numbers come down."
Rollins ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation for 15 years before serving in the first Trump White House, then founded the America First Policy Institute, and has run the US Department of Agriculture since February 2025.
I listened to the full segment so you can skip it.
Here are the 3 takeaways that matter.
👤 Guest: Brooke Rollins, US Secretary of Agriculture, speaking in her personal capacity from the Republican Party's midterm convention
🎙️ Host: Kailey Leinz, Bloomberg's Washington Correspondent
📰 Published: 9 September 2026
🔴 YouTube | 🟢 Spotify | 🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 5 min
Key Takeaways
Rollins frames Ken Paxton's Senate bid as part of a larger Texas story about "less government" and "more freedom," not just one race
She said Texas was "leading the way" on that agenda before Trump's first term even started
She says food-price inflation is back to a 2.5%-2.7% historical average, after a Biden-era run she put at "mid 20 percent"
Grocery costs, in her account, rose 25% over those four years; eggs are down close to 90% wholesale, about 50% retail
Diesel and fertilizer prices are still below their Biden-era highs, she says, even with diesel approaching $6 a gallon
She tied that directly to keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran's hands
Asked twice whether she'll run for Texas governor or a Senate seat, she ruled it out
"That is a no right now for sure. We've got way too much to do to be thinking about a potential run in the future"
1. Dallas and the Paxton Push
Rollins opened by explaining why the Republican Party chose her hometown for its first-ever midterm convention, tying the location directly to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign.
The host set up the question with a personal note: "And I wonder what your take is on why exactly this state was chosen and how much of it is about trying to get Ken Paxton over the finish line in the Senate race."
Rollins said getting Paxton "across the finish line" mattered, but placed it inside a broader argument about Texas as the model for the party's economic message. "What an honor to have this unprecedented historical event in my home state, the town where I was born, Dallas, Texas. Grew up about an hour and a half south of here in tiny little Glen Rose, Texas."
She described Texas as having led on "less government," "more freedom" and tax cuts, with job growth she called "unprecedented until Donald Trump won that first term"
Her framing cast the state itself as proof of concept for the national agenda. "And so in Texas, sort of our founding father's vision of the states being the laboratories of democracy where innovation happens." She added: "I think coming here right to the bedrock of free market conservative values makes a ton of sense."
Before the interview started, she joked about the noise of an ongoing sound check: "Forgive, they are doing sound checks in the back, so if we hear a little YMCA, you and I are just going to power right through"
2. The Affordability Pitch
The host pressed Rollins to explain why Texans facing high gas, diesel, fertilizer and beef prices should still credit Republicans with running the economy well. Rollins answered with a set of figures contrasting the Biden years against the past two.
She said inflation under the Biden administration was "out of control," estimating it at "in the mid 20 percent" over four years, with food costs up 25% over the same period. In the two years since, she said, "dairy is way down, berries are down 15%, eggs, of course, are down, retail almost 50%, wholesale 90%"
Her bottom line on food: "In just a couple of years, we're back to historical averages of about 2.5%, 2.7% for food, and we're going to continue to see those numbers come down"
The host pushed again, framing diesel as a cost that "feeds through into a lot of things": "But as diesel prices on average per gallon march towards $6, is that really going to translate in lower end prices for the consumer?"
Rollins answered that today's diesel and fertilizer prices are still below their levels under President Biden. "Well, I think the first important thing is that even with today's diesel prices, they're still either at or even lower than the high price of diesel under Joe Biden." She added: "Fertilizer is down 50%, 60% than under the Joe Biden administration"
She then tied that cost message directly to the administration's stance on Iran's nuclear program. "This president has been resolute that the idea of Iran having a nuclear weapon, maybe there is some short-term compromise in terms of bringing prices down, but keeping that nuclear weapon out of the hands of people that are willing to massacre 27,000, 30,000, 40,000 of their own people, I think from his perspective is really, really important"
3. That's a No, For Now
Asked directly, in her stated personal capacity, whether she would run for Texas governor or a Senate seat, Rollins gave a firm answer after an initial deflection.
Her first answer emphasized her current job: "Well, let me say that I am here in my personal capacity, but there is no greater honor than I've ever had in fighting for the men and women in rural America." She added: "The most important job, of course, is wife and mom to my four amazing kids"
The host followed up directly: "So that's a no then?"
She confirmed it without qualification. "That is a no right now for sure. We've got way too much to do to be thinking about a potential run in the future"
Bonus Insights
Every reference to her presence at the convention was framed as personal rather than official — the host introduced her "in her personal capacity," and Rollins repeated the phrase twice more on her own, including in the answer about a future campaign
The interview opened with an aside about a live sound check in the background, which Rollins predicted might produce "a little YMCA" — a small reminder that this was a cabinet interview conducted from a convention floor, not a studio
Rollins's bottom line is that the administration's economic case for the midterms rests on food and energy costs that she says have already fallen back below or near their pre-2024 norms, even as she personally closes the door — for now — on seeking office herself.
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