More choices for Secretary of Agriculture

The Trump Administration has been moving quickly to fill cabinet positions. Farmers and ranchers across the country figured that Secretary of Agriculture would be filled relatively quickly. An early slate of candidates' names that popped up in early November was filled with familiar farm-knowledgeable names. Yet the choice has not been made and the list of candidates keeps changing. North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp's name surfaced recently. She's a moderate democrat in her home state, and if she's appointed it's a good chance the North Dakota governor would appoint a Republican to fill her seat. A range of sources now say that the Heitkamp name was floated, but isn't going to happen. The two most recent names - those that popped up since Christmas - include Dr. Elsa Murano, the former president of Texas A&M and a former Agriculture undersecretary for food safety. She knows the department. Murano is one of the few to head that food safety division at USDA, a position that's currently vacant. She has a post-Bush Administration history of academic involvement with work at Texas A&M. The second, and latest, name to surface is former California Lt. Governor Abel Moldonado. The latino businessman is a Santa Barbara County farmer whose parents were Mexican farm immigrants, according to the Los Angeles Times. He is owner of Runway Vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley...more