Food and ag policy consultant Michael Torrey, a former Senate staffer and USDA official, is leading the Trump transition effort for the Agriculture Department, reports Politico, citing an organizational chart circulating on Capitol Hill. Torrey was was a deputy assistant agriculture secretary and later deputy USDA chief of staff during President George W. Bush’s first term.
Torrey, who opened his consultancy in 2005, was not immediately available for comment. In more than a quarter-century in Washington, Torrey has worked for trade groups, the CFTC and the USDA as well as Capitol Hill.
Politico said the organizational chart listed Myron Ebell, a climate-change skeptic, as head of transition for EPA. DTN reported a month ago that Ebell “also is a renowned skeptic of the Renewable Fuels Standard and ethanol policies.” The EPA oversees biofuels regulations as well as environmental rules.