WASHINGTON — Mindy Brashears, who previously served as US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Undersecretary for Food Safety under President Donald Trump, was nominated for the role again in his second term.

The US Senate referred Brashers nomination consideration to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. A hearing has not been scheduled yet to consider her nomination.

In the role of Undersecretary of Agriculture for Food Safety, Brashers would oversee the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

After serving at the USDA, Brashears returned to her role at Texas Tech University as a professor of food microbiology and food safety, as well as the director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence. Her current research looks at interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance.

At the Reciprocal Meat Conference in June in Columbus, Ohio, Brashears received the 2025 Signal Service Fellow award, marking her contributions to the meat industry.

MEAT+POULTRY profiled Brashears after she finished her time in the first Trump administration in 2021.

Jose Emilio Esteban, DVM, previously served in the role of undersecretary of food safety during the Biden administration.

The National Pork Producers Council expressed its support of Brashears’ recent nomination in its latest capital update.