Donald Trump administration Secretary of Agriculture appointment, 2017

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Following his election as the 45th President of the United States in 2016, Donald Trump and his transition team considered individuals to fill the position of Secretary of Agriculture. The secretary of agriculture is tasked with providing leadership on "food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management." Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) was nominated for the position on January 18, 2017, and confirmed on April 24, 2017.

Nomination tracker
Candidate: Sonny Perdue
Position: Secretary of Agriculture
Confirmation progress
a	Announced:	January 18, 2017
a	Hearing:	March 23, 2017
a	Committee:	Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
a	Reported:	March 30, 2017 19-1
a	Confirmed:	April 24, 2017
a	Vote:	87-11

To read more about the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its current staff, click here.

Timeline

See also: Sonny Perdue

The following timeline highlights noteworthy events related to this appointment.

• January 18, 2017: Trump nominated Sonny Perdue for the position.
• April 24, 2017: The U.S. Senate voted 87-11 to confirm Perdue.

Policy stances

At the time of his nomination, Perdue had the following known stances on issues related to agriculture:

• Assistance programs and immigration: During his re-election campaign in 2006, Perdue called for stronger measures to ensure that those receiving any government assistance were citizens. Perdue signed into law the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, which restricted who could receive public services in the state. His campaign website said, “The new law requires citizenship verification for individuals receiving any public services to ensure they are legally eligible to receive those services. It also requires citizenship verification of state employees and employers with state contracts and subcontracts.”
• Food policy: In 2008 and 2009, a multistate outbreak of deadly Salmonella was caused by peanut butter made with Georgia peanuts. After state investigations concluded that the peanut butter company had shipped the product knowing it had Salmonella contamination, Perdue worked on legislation to strengthen food safety laws in the state. Act 98, which was passed in 2009, required food producers to notify the state within 24 hours if a product tests as tainted. Not notifying the state became a criminal act.

Considered candidates for Secretary of Agriculture

The table below highlights individuals who were either nominated to the position by Trump or were mentioned in the media as potential nominees.

Considered candidates for Secretary of Agriculture
Name	Notable experience	Source
Sam Brownback	Gov. of Kansas	The New York Times
Chuck Conner	CEO of National Council of Farmer Cooperatives	The New York Times
Sid Miller	Agriculture Commissioner of Texas	The New York Times
Sonny Perdue	Former Gov. of Georgia	The New York Times
Dave Heineman	Former Gov. of Nebraska	Buzzfeed
Rick Perry	Former Gov. of Texas	Politico
Charles Herbster	Owner of Herbster Angus Farms	Politico
Mike McCloskey	CEO of Select Milk Producers	Politico
Bruce Rastetter	CEO of Summit Agricultural Group	Politico
Kip Tom	Managing Member of Tom Farms	Politico
Don Villwock	President of Indiana Farm Bureau	Politico
Ted McKinney	Director of Indiana Department of Agriculture	Politico
Heidi Heitkamp	U.S. Senator from North Dakota	Politico
Butch Otter	Gov. of Idaho	Politico
Susan Combs	Former Texas Secretary of Agriculture	Politico

See also

Executive Branch portal U.S. Department of State U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of the Treasury U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

External links

• Official Secretary of Agriculture website