President Donald Trump will nominate Doug Hoelscher, an Iowa veteran of the George W. Bush and first Trump administrations, to serve as chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, according to three people familiar with White House plans.
Hoelscher would join the administration from the America First Policy Institute – the Trump-aligned think tank founded by now Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The Iowa native led the organization’s American Leadership Initiative, which worked on a strategy to swiftly execute the president’s policy agenda upon taking office, according to the group’s website.
Prior to joining AFPI in 2021, Hoelscher held two positions during the first Trump administration, first as the deputy director of White House intergovernmental affairs, then as the assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs. He also worked for the state of Iowa in the Office of State-Federal Relations, according to his LinkedIn, the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, and held multiple positions in the Department of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration.
USTR and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Before assuming the position, Hoelscher will need to be confirmed by the Senate.
If nominated, Hoelscher would join a pipeline of AFPI personnel that have headed into government. In addition to Rollins, Education Secretary Linda McMahon was also at the think tank before joining the administration as education secretary and Attorney General Pam Bondi led the group’s legal arm.
Seven members of AFPI’s leadership had gone on to serve in the second Trump administration, according to a February statement from the think tank.
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"I can think of no one better to represent the interests of our great farmers and the agricultural supply chain during this dynamic time," Devin Mogler, president and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association, said of Hoelscher. "Doug is a great Iowan who understands the critical role agriculture plays in our economy and how commodity exports help to reduce our trade deficit," Mogler told Agri-Pulse via text.
Hoelscher, who has a degree from the University of Iowa, succeeds Doug McKalip, who held the post under the Biden administration. Before McKalip, the post had been vacant for almost two years.
A previous nominee from President Joe Biden had withdrawn her nomination and McKalip faced a lengthy confirmation process after multiple senators held up proceedings in an effort to secure concessions from the administration in other areas.
Sara Wyant and Philip Brasher contributed to this report.
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