BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue for secretary of agriculture, the last appointee named to Trump’s proposed Cabinet.
“I am proud and honored to be joining President-elect Trump’s administration as his Secretary of Agriculture,” Perdue said in a statement released by the Trump transition team Thursday. “Beginning as a simple Georgia farm boy, making sure Americans who make their livelihood in the agriculture industry are thriving is near and dear to my heart, and I’m going to champion the concerns of American agriculture and work tirelessly to solve the issues facing our farm families in this new role.”
Perdue’s nomination must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate.
Perdue, 70, who served as governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011, worked on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. He is also a veterinarian and served as a captain in the United States Air Force.
Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.
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