President-elect Donald Trump is flirting with the record for the slowest announcement of a nominee for agriculture secretary in 24 years. But transition spokesman Jason Miller says, “The focus is making sure that the president-elect picks the person he wants to go with and that he’s comfortable that he’s picking the absolute most highly qualified, best person.” Iowa agricultural executive Bruce Rastetter met transition officials in New York, igniting new speculation about candidates to lead USDA.
Miller said he didn’t have “any particular updates about his (Rastetter’s) meeting with transition officials” and said he was unaware if Rastetter was under consideration for an administration post. “Obviously, [he is] someone who comes with a wealth of knowledge and is very well-known in Iowa politics,” said Miller.
A spokesman for Rastetter was not immediately available for questions about the visit. The entrepreneur visited Trump Tower on Tuesday, the same day that Texas rancher Susan Combs, viewed as a contender for USDA, met Vice President-elect Mike Pence in Washington. Rastetter, who made his fortune in large-scale hog feedlots and ethanol plants, organized a cattle-call for presidential aspirants in March 2015, nearly a year ahead of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.
Presidents-elect typically select cabinet nominees before Christmas, which gives the Senate a chance to hold confirmation hearings in early January and confirm cabinet members in time for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. Two cabinet spots remain open for Trump — the secretaries of Agriculture and of Veterans Affairs.
During a daily tele-briefing, Miller declined to speculate if there would be announcements this week for the posts. “I don’t know how imminent any announcement will be coming,” he said, later adding, “If that happens to happen this week in advance of the holiday, we’ll get that out there right away. Otherwise, we’ll put those out as soon as that’s finalized.”
Since the Carter era, the latest that a USDA chief was named was Dec. 24, 1992, when Bill Clinton announced that Rep. Mike Espy, the first black official elected to the U.S. House from Mississippi since Reconstruction, was his choice for agriculture secretary. Espy was the first black official to head USDA.
Before that, the latest date was Dec. 23, 1980, when Ronald Reagan tabbed Jack Block, an Illinois farmer, as his agriculture secretary, ending a tug-of-war over USDA leadership. Kansas Sen. Bob Dole prevailed in insisting that a farmer run the department. Block, who was also Illinois state agriculture director, was the last farmer to serve as U.S. agriculture secretary.
Rastetter was one of the largest Republican donors in Iowa in the past decade, says a 2015 profile story by the Des Moines Register. “Rastetter’s name is synonymous with fights as a leader in three tender subject areas in Iowa — large-scale agriculture, ethanol production and education funding.” He is chief executive of Summit Agricultural Group, which the Register described as “his multinational agriculture, investment and energy corporation.”
Rastetter was a member of Trump’s agricultural advisory committee. The Iowa blog Bleeding Heartland says he is a frequent advisor to Gov. Terry Branstad, Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to China, and was backstage at Trump’s “Thank You” rally in Des Moines on Dec. 8.
“Picking Rastetter to run the USDA would reassure biofuels supporters who are deeply concerned that Trump chose opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard to run the U.S. Department of Energy (former Texas Governor Rick Perry) and the Environmental Protection Agency (Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt),” said Bleeding Heartland.
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway, a Texan like Combs, backed her for USDA as “a stunningly capable woman” who served as state agriculture commission and state comptroller, said Politico. Combs “has pushed nutrition policies that would please Michelle Obama, backed President-elect Donald Trump’s rivals and written an erotic novel,” said Politico. Some Texas conservatives say Combs backed “some left-leaning policies” and was comptroller when the office accidentally released personal data on 3.5 million Texans.