President Trump’s nominee to run USDA’s farm subsidy and land stewardship programs has waited for three months for a Senate vote, and acknowledges he faces a decision: To file for a fourth term as Iowa state agriculture secretary in this year’s elections or wait for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to end his opposition to a vote on him. “I believe there is still hope right now,” said nominee Bill Northey told Successful Farming.
The oil-state senator put a hold on Northey’s nomination in late October as part of a fight with Midwestern senators over the ethanol mandate. Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst say Cruz’s proposals for revisions in the mandate are non-starters. Holds are an informal Senate practice, “not an atypical thing,” Northey said in discussing his situation. He said the underlying issue was being addressed.
The filing period for statewide offices in Iowa runs from Feb. 26-March 16, with candidates required to gather 1,000 signatures, including a minimum of 50 signatures from at least 10 counties. The primary election will be June 5 and the general election Nov. 6.
“A decision is approaching, one way or the other,” said Northey, who won his third term in 2014 by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. “It impacts others that are thinking about it. I have not made a decision. That’s something I would have to think about as we get closer to that (the filing deadline) … At some point, I have to think about whether … all efforts are not going to get me to that next job and what I need to do if I’m not going to be undersecretary.”
Northey said he was very interested in the USDA post and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue’s reorganization of USDA, which includes more coordination of its programs. Deputy Secretary Steve Censky has a goal of implementing the 2018 farm bill online, he said.
At least two Republicans are running for Iowa agriculture secretary, Craig Lang, a former Iowa Farm Bureau president, and Ray Glasser, chairman of the American Soybean Association, said Bleeding Heartland, an Iowa political blog. The chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Pat Grassley, a potential heavyweight in the race and a relative of the Iowa senator, announced a week ago that he will seek a seventh term from his district in northeastern Iowa.
If Northey is confirmed by the Senate for the USDA post, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds would appoint a successor. “Recent rumors have centered around a placeholder with no plans to run for the office: Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig,” said Bleeding Heartland. Northey hired Naig, a former Monsanto lobbyist, as deputy secretary in August 2013.
To watch a video of the Successful Farming interview, click here.