Nominations of Mindy Brashears to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, Stella Herrell to be Assistant Secretary of Agriculture of Congressional Relations, John Walk to be Inspector General, Department of Agriculture

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
106 Dirksen

10/29/2025 at 03:00PM

Full committee nominations hearing.

Nominees:

  • Dr. Mindy Brashears, of Texas, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety
  • Stella Yvette Herrell, of New Mexico, to be Assistant Secretary of Agriculture of Congressional Relations
  • John Walk, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Agriculture

Before serving in Trump’s first term, Brashears was a paid consultant for major meat-producing companies subject to federal inspection and regulation, including Cargill and Perdue Farms. After her departure in 2021, she accepted positions with Boar’s Head Provision Company and the Meat Institute.

Herrell is a Republican politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s 2nd congressional district from 2021 to 2023.

Walk serves as Judicial Officer at the United States Department of Agriculture. served as Associate Counsel to President Donald J. Trump at the White House Counsel’s Office from January 2017 until December 2020. At the White House, Walk advised the President and senior White House officials on the exercise of the President’s constitutional authority, regulatory matters, executive actions, and implementation of public policy. Prior to the White House, Walk served as an attorney at the Department of Homeland Security, providing advice on DHS operations and defending against federal litigation as agency counsel as an ally of Stephen Miller. Before entering the legal profession, Walk was a senior government relations advisor at an international law firm and served as a congressional staffer in the House of Representatives. Walk is the son-in-law of Jeff Sessions, married to Sessions’ daughter Ruth.