agriculture secretary
A late start for Trump nominee at USDA may not matter
The agricultural hallmark of the Trump administration, the 2018 farm bill, will be written by Congress for the most part, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, so it doesn't matter that Trump will take office without a hand-picked leader at the Agriculture Department. "I don't think it's got much to do ... with getting the Trump program for agriculture moving," Grassley told reporters.
Miller, a possible USDA pick, would cut school lunch by ‘several billion dollars’
The government is giving away too many meals in the school-lunch program, according to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in a McClatchy story. An aspirant for U.S. agriculture secretary, Miller said he discussed with President-elect Donald Trump's team a plan to save "several billion dollars" by reforming the lunch program, which was created in 1946 "as a measure of national security, to safeguard the the health and well-being of the nation's children."
In longest search since 1933, Trump seeks ideal agriculture secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has interviewed at least six people in the longest-running search for an agriculture secretary since the arrival of the New Deal in 1933, and he still hasn't found the ideal person to help make America great again. "He continues to meet with highly qualified people in the Department of Agriculture," said transition spokesman Sean Spicer during a daily teleconference, saying Trump wants cabinet members "to help make each of these departments operate at their highest efficiency and deliver the best results for the American people."
Sonny Perdue is leading contender to head USDA
Out of a cavalcade of candidates, Sonny Perdue, the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction, is President-elect Donald Trump's leading candidate to become agriculture secretary in what has become the lengthiest selection process in at least 40 years. Perdue would be the second southerner to serve as agriculture secretary in the USDA's 118 years as a cabinet department.
Another USDA possibility emerges, along with a candidate for USTR
Texas rancher Susan Combs, the first woman elected as state agriculture commissioner and a former state comptroller, was to meet Vice President-elect Mike Pence, said the Trump transition team. The move ignited speculation that Combs might be in line for USDA chief.
Trump’s latest contender for USDA passed toughest ‘ag gag’ law
President-elect Donald Trump is considering Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter for secretary of agriculture, despite his record — or maybe because of it — of opposing animal rights activists, says Politico. In Idaho, Otter signed the country’s toughest “ag gag” law, which carries up to a year in jail and a maximum fine $5,000 if a person is caught using a fake ID to access a farm and then film the activities there.
Idaho governor, first rumored for Interior, is eyed for USDA
The honorary chairman of the Trump campaign in Idaho, third-term Gov. Butch Otter, was mentioned repeatedly as a possible nominee for Interior secretary. Now his spokesman says Otter is in the mix for Agriculture secretary, and Politico cited unnamed sources in saying, "Otter has been to Trump Tower to talk with the transition team about the agriculture secretary position."
Forceful Trump to press regulatory relief first, say farm policy hands
The Trump administration will focus on regulatory relief in its early days in office, said two farm-policy hands, who pointed to EPA's Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule as a prime example of federal over-reach. Chuck Conner, of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said President-elect Trump will be forceful in rolling back regulations, and Dale Moore, of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the regulatory burden saps farmers' bottom lines.
An oil advocate for Interior, who for USDA?
More than a quarter of the land in the United States, mostly in the West and Alaska, is owned by the federal government, a massive stewardship challenge and a frequent cause of friction with local governments. President-elect Donald Trump apparently has settled on Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a proponent of oil and gas development, to run the Interior Department, which oversees 416 million acres. But transition officials are silent on his choice for the Agriculture Department, which controls nearly 193 million acres of forest and grassland.
Will agriculture be among ‘almost all’ of Trump nominees?
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.
Heitkamp to meet Trump; mentioned for USDA or DOE chief
Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, expected to face a rugged re-election race in 2018, will meet President-elect Donald Trump today in New York amid speculation that the North Dakotan is under consideration to head the Agriculture or Energy departments, said Roll Call. Heitkamp told reporters she was responding to an invitation from Trump and "I don't even known if it's about a job."
Long or short? Waiting season for the agriculture secretary nominee
Presidents-elect tend to nominate their cabinet members before Christmas, giving the Senate the opportunity, almost always exercised in the spirit of comity, to confirm them in time for the Jan. 20 change of administration. The selection of the incoming agriculture secretary typically is announced in the final round — but not always.
Moran says he’s not in the mix for agriculture secretary
Just elected to a second term as senator from Kansas, Republican Jerry Moran quashed reports that President-elect Donald Trump wants him to serve as agriculture secretary. Moran told KWCH-TV in Wichita that he has not been offered the position.
Whoever the president selects for agriculture secretary, it’s usually a surprise
When trying to predict presidential nominations, a parlor game that enchants Washington with special fervor when a new administration is in the wings, recall the unconventional way Mike Espy persuaded Bill Clinton to tap him for agriculture secretary: He wrote him a note before a Democratic Leadership Council dinner at Union Station.
Next USDA chief? ‘Find a governor,’ says Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, nearing the end of eight years at USDA, knows the type of person who would fit perfectly as his replacement at USDA. "If I were to offer advice [it would be] find a governor who cares about agriculture," Vilsack told reporters.
Political chatter again taps Ross as potential agriculture secretary
California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross and former two-term Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear are among three leading candidates for agriculture secretary if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, says The Hagstrom Report. It was apparently the first time Beshear has been tabbed as a potential nominee; Ross has been mentioned repeatedly by ag lobbyists and in published reports as a contender.
Will Vilsack be the 21st-century version of ‘Tama Jim’ Wilson?
Tom Vilsack is the longest-serving agriculture secretary in half a century, and there's already chatter about a continued role in government if Democrats retain control of the White House. "That will be up to Hillary Clinton," said Sen. Charles Grassley, who notes that fellow Iowan "Tama Jim" Wilson holds the record for cabinet tenure — 16 years.
“He’s doing this to spite me”
Dan Glickman knows his time is running out as the longest-serving agriculture secretary in half a century. Tom Vilsack, who started on the job at the dawn of the Obama administration in 2009, will tie Glickman, who served in the Clinton era, at 2,123 days in office on Nov 13 and surpass him on Nov 14, according to a USDA tally.