President-elect Donald Trump picked former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday to be his agriculture secretary, tapping a veterinarian-turned-politician who was the state’s first Republican governor in more than a century to lead the sprawling department.
Perdue, 70, had emerged as Trump’s leading contender to run the agriculture department in recent days, and he is said to have impressed the New York businessman with his experience in public office and in the private sector.
Perdue becomes the second Georgian selected to join Trump’s Cabinet after U.S. Rep. Tom Price of Roswell was tapped as health secretary.
If confirmed, Perdue would become the new head of the $140 billion agency, which dictates the nation’s farm policy and also oversees the food stamp program. He would be the first agriculture secretary from a Southern state since Mike Espy of Mississippi headed the department in the early 1990s.
More information about the nomination can be found HERE.
