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Yvette Herrell, a former state legislator from New Mexico, was appointed in June by the president to serve as assistant secretary for congressional relations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her nomination is currently awaiting confirmation by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which includes U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico.
Herrell has been working as a real estate broker in Alamogordo since leaving Congress. She stated that her new role with the Trump administration means she will not seek election to the CD 1 seat in the U.S. House in 2026, a position she previously held.
The New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC) issued a statement congratulating Herrell on her appointment: "New Mexico Business Coalition congratulates Assistant Secretary Herrell on the appointment! We look forward to a continuation of her proven record of pro-business advocacy that she displayed as a New Mexico State Representative and a member of Congress. Herrell has decades of local, state and federal policy experience and coming from a rural Ag community makes her uniquely qualified for a top level position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NMBC encourages Senator Ben Ray Lujan and other members of the NM Congressional delegation to place the needs of our state and country above party politics and swiftly advance the confirmation hearing process for Yvette Herrell."
If confirmed, Herrell would take over from Adrienne Wojciechowski, who left her post after President Trump took office in January. The assistant secretary position oversees congressional relations within an agency that employs nearly 100,000 people and manages entities such as the U.S. Forest Service.
Brooke Rollins currently leads the Department of Agriculture. At a recent Western Governors Association meeting in Santa Fe, Rollins announced plans to repeal restrictions on road construction and logging across 91,000 square miles of Forest Service land.
