Former Governor Sonny Perdue has moved another step closer to becoming the 31st Secretary of Agriculture. The Senate Agriculture Committee voted nearly unanimously yesterday to advance Perdue’s nomination to the full Senate for its consideration.
“I’m pleased our committee has made swift strides to move Governor Purdue’s nomination closer to the finish line,” said Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. “Our farmers and ranchers have been waiting too long for this important position to be filled. We need to get Governor Perdue down to USDA to get to work. Rural America is ready,” Roberts said.
The only Senate Agriculture Committee vote against Perdue came from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who said that Perdue increased paperwork and work requirements for food stamp recipients when he was Governor of Georgia. Senator David Perdue (R-GA), the nominee’s cousin, abstained from voting.
It is not clear when the full Senate will move to confirm Perdue. Perdue’s nomination is mostly non-controversial so party leaders could strike an agreement to vote on his Perdue’s nomination quickly with little debate on the Senate Floor. However, the Senate leaves for its two-week spring recess beginning at the end of next week. If the Senate does not move the Perdue confirmation along, then Perdue would not be able to get sworn in until the last week of April at the earliest. Meanwhile, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wishes to use much of the time remaining before the upcoming recess debating Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch and nullifying Obama-era regulations.
Perdue, 70, would be the first Southerner in the post for more than two decades.. His rural roots–he is a farmer’s son and has owned several agricultural companies–and his conciliatory tone and bipartisan approach at his recent hearing on March 23 won him support from some Democrats, including ranking member Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Senators Heidi Heitkamp (NC) and Joe Donnelly (IN). Perdue has the bipartisan support of six past Secretaries of Agriculture.
