U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks during a National Agriculture Day event at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins was brutally mocked on Monday after she told "lies" about the federal government's decision to close a U.S. Forest Service office in Michigan during a press conference.
Rollins spoke at the Michigan State University Dairy Cattle Teaching & Research Center on Monday, where she was asked by a reporter about the federal government's decision to close the U.S. Forest Service offices in Michigan. Rollins' answer left several political analysts and observers stunned.
Lily Catherine Guiney, a reporter at State Affairs, told Rollins that she heard rumblings of an office in Michigan's Upper Peninsula closing and the employees being assigned to the East Coast.
Rollins said the comments were "incorrect."
"Any offices that are closing, it's usually because the rent is too high and there is so much work to be done that we consolidated offices," Rollins said.
Political analysts and observers mocked Rollins on social media.
"The lack of knowledge is deeply embarrassing. You can see it in the faces of the people behind her. The research facility in Houghton is paid for and costs taxpayers $1 per year in rent to Michigan Tech University," Steve Voelker, an associate professor at Michigan Tech University, posted on Bluesky.
"The rent is too high to save our most important resource. They are absolutely shameless. Never-ending lies to sell our government and natural resources to their billionaire and corporate masters," Fred Wellman, a Democratic candidate for office in Missouri, posted on X.
"This woman does not know what she's talking about and she exists to liquidate our resources. Forest Service research stations are owned assets, they generally aren't rented, and they are in rural, rural areas... there's no high rent and the costs are low (and the value high)," military veteran Shelby Edwards posted on Bluesky.
"The USDA Forest Service is closing all four of its Michigan research and development facilities in Houghton, East Lansing, Wellston, and L'Anse. The Trump Administration continues to lie," Distill Social, a news outlet in Michigan, posted on X.
"Kakistocracy. Government by the least and most incompetent among us," Norman Ornstein, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, posted on X.