President-elect Donald Trump says “you’ll be seeing almost all” of his cabinet nominees this week; he already has tabbed three of the four big posts — Defense, Treasury, Justice and State — and USDA usually is included in the second round of announcements. There were reports that Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad may become U.S. ambassador to China and Cathy Bertini, former head of the World Food Program, may be named head of the USAID.
A dozen or so people have been mentioned as potential nominees for agriculture secretary. Five of the past six secretaries, dating from the Clinton era, were U.S. representatives or governors. Selection of a USDA chief often is influenced by a president-elect’s desire to balance the cabinet by political faction, gender or race.
North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat mentioned for three possible cabinet posts, including Agriculture, said she and Trump had “a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion on a variety of issues important to North Dakota and the country” during a meeting that lasted more than an hour. Topics included coal, “keeping jobs in the United States,” energy infrastructure and “issues facing small community banks,” said Heitkamp in a statement that did not mention agriculture.
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue spent nearly two hours at Trump Tower last week and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said there was speculation he was being considered for USDA chief. Perdue told reporters that he did not talk about filling a specific administration post, said the newspaper. The last southerner to serve as agriculture secretary was Mike Espy during President Clinton’s first term.
The long-serving governor of Iowa, Branstad “has maintained a long friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping,” said the Des Moines Register. Trump told a pre-election rally in Sioux City that Branstad “would be my prime candidate to take care of China.” The newspaper said speculation about the ambassadorship “ramped up … as the governor prepares for an economic development trip to New York” this week. Branstad will be in New York from Tuesday through Thursday. Bloomberg said Branstad “is the front-runner” for the job and that he was likely to meet Trump while in New York.
Bertini, the 2003 winner of the World Food Prize for her work in decreasing hunger as leader of the World Food Program, was floated as a potential administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said The Hagstrom Report. Bertini has been a member of a USAID advisory board for years.