Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is meeting an “unprecedented” number of senators while waiting for the administration to send to the Senate his nomination for agriculture secretary, says a transition official, who is hopeful the process will begin moving “in the next couple of days.” Perdue’s selection was announced on the day before President Trump’s inauguration, so he’s the last one to go through the FBI background check.
Perdue has spent most of his time in DC since the Jan. 19 announcement, said the transition official. He has met senators, who must approve the nomination, and devoted time to ag issues. “He isn’t sitting idly by,” said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Once the nomination papers arrive, the Agriculture Committee can schedule a confirmation hearing, followed by a vote by committee and then by the full Senate. “Perdue should have little trouble winning approval,” says the Atlantic in a common assessment. There is no vocal opposition to the former two-term state executive, the first Republican to be elected governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.
Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary for President Obama, has endorsed Perdue as his replacement and farm groups have embraced Perdue, who grew up on a farm, for the post.
The long delay has sparked speculation but no explanation of the causes. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted a transition official as saying, “It’s just an overload of work that had to be done” by the FBI. Only one other nominee, Alexander Acosta, for the post of secretary of labor, is awaiting a hearing.
The Office of Government Ethics would not confirm if it had received the (financial disclosure) paperwork for either Perdue or Acosta,” said The Hill newspaper. It said farm groups, who waited for weeks for the USDA nomination, are “growing anxious again over the delayed confirmation.” Along with financial disclosure reports, the background checks identify any potential conflicts of interest and how a nominee will resolve them.
Besides Perdue and Acosta, there are two cabinet-level nominations that have not been confirmed by the Senate, former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats for director of national intelligence, and Robert Lighthizer for U.S. trade representative.
“Without an ag secretary, routine processes grind to a halt,” said Farm Journal Media. Farm lobbyist Mary Kay Thatcher said there are dozens of empty USDA slots for policymakers with the turnover to a new administration. “Now, there’s nobody there to ask.”