The Senate on Thursday confirmed Brooke Rollins, a longtime policy aide to President Trump with a farm-town background, to lead the Agriculture Department.

Ms. Rollins cruised across the finish line on a 72-28 vote, with plenty of support from Democrats alongside the GOP majority.

“She pledged to do everything within her ability to ensure our farmers, ranchers and rural communities thrive, and we know she will follow through on that,” Sen. John Boozman, Arkansas Republican, said.

During her confirmation hearing, Ms. Rollins pledged to find export markets for farmers so they wouldn’t need more aid from Washington.

She wants to close a $45 billion trade deficit for the agricultural industry. Estimates show farm exports for fiscal 2025 will total $170 billion while imports increase to $215 billion.

Amid fears of a worker shortage on farms, Ms. Rollins defended Mr. Trump’s deportation program and said she would work with the Labor Department to improve the H-2A program that lets employers bring foreign workers to the U.S. to fill temporary agricultural jobs.

Ms. Rollins will guide school lunch programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that helps low-income families afford food. Later this year, she will finalize dietary guidelines that help Americans make healthy choices.

Her confirmation process was relatively smooth compared with other nominees who faced bruising questions about their records and past statements.

Ms. Rollins, 52, grew up in Glen Rose, Texas, and earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture development from Texas A&M University.

She served as acting director of Mr. Trump’s Domestic Policy Council during his first term and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a nonprofit that promoted Mr. Trump’s public agenda for the past four years.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.