California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross and former two-term Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear are among three leading candidates for agriculture secretary if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, says The Hagstrom Report. It was apparently the first time Beshear has been tabbed as a potential nominee; Ross has been mentioned repeatedly by ag lobbyists and in published reports as a contender.
Ross was appointed state agriculture secretary by California Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011 after serving as chief of staff to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for two years.
The Hagstrom Report based its report on an unidentified source, who declined to name the third person under consideration. Lobbyists also have mentioned Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and former deputy agriculture secretary Kathleen Merrigan as possible nominees to head USDA.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs announced a task force “to recommend a refreshed strategy and rationale for U.S. commitment to global food security for the next president.” The panel includes two former agriculture secretaries, a former secretary of homeland security and a former director of the World Food Program.
And WikiLeaks posted an email written by John Podesta, chairman of Clinton’s presidential campaign, in March that listed 39 people for possible consideration for vice president, including eventual nominee, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. Also on the list were Vilsack, five members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.