Six weeks into the congressional session, the Senate Agriculture Committee has a new member, Luther Strange, an Alabama Republican and successor to Jeff Sessions, now attorney general for President Trump. Strange said that as a senator he wanted “to advance conservative principles and fight for a more lean and efficient federal government.”
Formerly the Alabama attorney general, Strange was appointed by Gov. Robert Bentley to serve until a special election in November 2018 to fill Sessions’ term, which expires in 2020. “Strange has said he will run in the special election,” said Alabama Media Group. Strange was appointed to three other Senate committees where Sessions formerly was a member, the Budget, Armed Services and Energy and Natural Resources.
As state attorney general, Strange opposed EPA’s Waters of the United States rule, said Southeast AgNet. The Alabama Farmers Federation said Strange “will play a pivotal role in design of the next farm bill.”