The Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday named Kylie Tokaz Buller, a former Koch Brothers employee who recently worked on behalf of the seed oil industry, as USDA’s chief of staff.
Buller, who worked at the Department of Agriculture during the first Trump administration, worked for various food interest groups, including the Corn Refining Association, and was president and CEO of the Edible Oil Producers Association. .
Most recently, he served as President and CEO of the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA), a lobbying organization representing the U.S. soybean, canola, flaxseed, safflower seed, and sunflower seed industries.
Her appointment puts the Department of Agriculture in direct conflict with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the massive Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement that he draws inspiration from. Looks like I’ll have to. (Related: RFK Jr. wants to take fluoride out of water — and it’s not as crazy as his detractors claim)
Kennedy Jr. detonated seed oil, call them “It’s one of the drivers of the obesity epidemic.” He is a big supporter of beef tallow and has pushed fast-food chains to fry their food in tallow instead of seed oil.
Seed oil is one of the most unhealthy ingredients in food. I have to make the frying fat again. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/OOqGffhFUy
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024
His advocacy has led some chains, such as Steak & Shake, to ditch seed oil in favor of tallow.
For people like Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Kennedy drew attention to a cause she championed even before it became popular.
“In fact, we’ve been working on this issue for several years now, and other members are starting to take notice,” Luna told the Caller, adding that Trump has elevated Kennedy’s platform. admitted that.
WILMINGTON, NC – SEPTEMBER 21: Anna Paulina Paulina leaves after speaking at a rally for former President Donald Trump at AeroCenter Wilmington on September 21, 2024 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Congressman Luna (R-Florida). President Trump is returning to Wilmington, North Carolina, after his previous rally scheduled for April was canceled due to thunderstorms. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Luna said she is currently working with Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker on a bipartisan bill that would label products containing seed oils as unhealthy. “yeah“It’s not a complete ban,” she told the caller. “But to make people more health conscious and aware of this, we put labels on them, similar to how we label cigarette packets and things that are toxic to humans.”
Like many members of the MAHA division, Mr. Luna took note of Mr. Buller’s hiring.
“I hope that person does the right thing,” Luna told the caller. “If they act contrary to President Trump’s MAHA policy, I will be the first to call them out.”
Buller’s hiring creates a potential conflict between HHS and the department of Agriculture Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins. It also signals a potential willingness to break with President Trump early on in the second administration.
butlers past experience His work as a Koch Associate at the Charles Koch Institute is notable. In mid-January, President Trump told his Truth Social followers that people who work for Charles Koch’s political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (which he jokingly called Americans Without Prosperity) asked the government not to recommend it to the government.
The Daily Caller reached out to Mr. Buller and Mr. Kennedy Jr.’s team for further insight into the potential conflict, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
