USDA nominations
Former Ag Secretary Vilsack says USDA science nominee lacks credibility
Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said President Trump’s nominee to head the USDA’s research division wouldn’t be a credible choice with the scientific community, according to Harvest Public Media. Trump nominated former conservative talk radio host and economics professor Sam Clovis to be the USDA’s chief scientist in July, setting off a wave of criticism.
Top Senate Democrat calls for withdrawal of ‘wildly unqualified’ USDA nominee
President Trump should withdraw the nomination of “wildly unqualified” Sam Clovis for USDA chief scientist “as a gesture to the American people that this administration is serious about rooting out the most hateful voices in our society,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a joint statement with Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
USDA nominee Clovis: same-sex marriage could lead to legalization of pedophilia
In the years before becoming co-chair of the Trump presidential campaign, Iowa college professor Sam Clovis, nominated to be the USDA's chief scientist, said homosexuality was a choice and that same-sex marriage could lead to legalization of pedophilia, reported CNN's KFile. The White House did not respond to a CNN request for comment and a USDA spokeswoman told the KFile, "The Supreme Court settled the issue in 2015."
Consumer group chief: Law requires rejection of USDA nominee Clovis
In a hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Michael Jacobson, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said that while Sam Clovis has a broad resume and “there are likely senior jobs in the Administration that he would have been qualified to hold, the job of USDA chief scientist is not one of them.”
Northey nearing nomination for USDA post, says Grassley
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley told reporters that it’s just a matter of time until Bill Northey, the Iowa state agriculture secretary, is nominated for a senior post at the USDA. Since spring, Northey has been considered the likely nominee for undersecretary for farm production and conservation, overseeing farm subsidies and land stewardship programs.