[6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19-1 voice vote on March 30. Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. (Washington, D.C., April 28, 2020) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to keep meat and poultry processing facilities open during the COVID-19 national emergency. [40], In 2008, Perdue worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state. Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, First National Flag of the Confederate States of America, North American Vexillological Association, United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, List of American politicians who switched parties in office, "Former Georgia governor tapped as Trump's agriculture secretary, sources say", "Company Overview of Perdue Partners, LLC", "BPC Congratulates Sec. Perdue claimed a combined $511,800 in income from Perdue Inc., a trucking company; Houston Fertilizer & Grain Co., which manages commercial real estate in Bonaire, Ga.; and StarPort Logistics LLC. [News tape] FOX5: The choice of Perdue has already drawn criticism from student groups and university professors who describe Perdue as a career politician with no experience in higher education. Steve Fennessy: Chancellor of the University System of Georgia it's one of the most coveted jobs in higher education. Steve Fennessy: The governor appoints the regents on the Board of Regents; there's 19 of them. Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. USDA said the reorganization of Perdues finances was cleared by career ethics staff, pointing to the secretarys 2019 financial disclosure that was signed by ethics officials. On April 1, 2022, Perdue took over as the system's 14th chancellor. [41] The next year, Georgia was affected by the September floods, which were the most severe in Georgia's recorded history. GPB is committedto bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia, across the country and around the world. Steve Fennessy: The last full-time permanent chancellor, why did they leave? [12] A 2005 tax bill passed by the Georgia Legislature allowed residents to gain a tax break if they sold a property in Georgia to buy similar property in another state, and made the change retroactive to 2004. How did we find out about that? Why is there 19? A low-ball estimate of the value of storage in the grain silos was US$3 million. Steve Fennessy: Eric, you've covered higher education in Georgia for a lot of years. In research shared with POLITICO, Accountable.US alleges that farm policies backed by the secretary could potentially have benefited his own or his familys interests beyond the two agribusinesses that were sold. After the sale, the huge boiler on the property was sold for approximately $500,000, easily covering the cost of the purchase even if the rest of the land had been valueless. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. Secretary Perdue complied with his ethics agreement and followed the advice of ethics officers at USDA when he restructured the Perdue Family Revocable Management Trust into a new family management trust, in which the secretary and his wife had no ownership interest and were not trustees, the spokesperson said in a statement. Steve Fennessy: So what happened then? You know, we reported as soon as we got the copy of the letter. [48], During meetings with Georgia state port officials, then-Governor Perdue discussed his family business's use of a terminal, then started a new export company in Savannah soon after leaving office. Perdue led Ossoff in the . Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Oversight group isnt reviewing Georgia regents choice of Sonny Perdue. Mr. Perdues appointment as chancellor would also limit his contributions to the campaign of David Perdue, his cousin and a former senator who is running against Gov. Therefore the new trust Perdue listed on his 2019 financial disclosure, identifying himself as a co-trustee, poses no conflict of interest or violation of his ethics commitments, the spokesperson said. Faster kill lines boost packer profits even as they put already pandemic-stressed workers under greater strain, while also making proper social distancing even more difficult. "The. There, he managed a workforce of 110,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the stated objective of being the most efficient, effective and customer-friendly agency in the . You know, he also backed Brian Kemp to fill the position of Secretary of State. He was there at the end. [46] The land was adjacent to the 20,000 acres (81km2) Oaky Woods preserve being sold by Weyerhaeuser. They have to be in charge of making sure that the schools comply with federal education policies and procedures, state education rules and regulations. [14] He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the senator representing the 18th district. Gov. He referenced the pandemic and the phrase "Cultural Revolution." Sonny Perdue Is Sole Finalist to Lead Georgias Public Universities, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/us/sonny-perdue-georgia-chancellor.html. Senator David Perdue by their grandfather George Ervin Perdue I. But you know, we are hearing, you know, some of the newer members could be a lot more supportive of Sonny Perdue. Later, FALF Management Trust was created. Steve Fennessy: And when Wrigley said he was going to retire, was there kind of a shortlist floated around of possible successors? The Washington Post detailed several wish-list items that ADM achieved: loosening of regulations on pork production, fewer inspections, helping lobby against proposed government bans on glyphosate by Thailand and Vietnam, and promoting ethanol and biodiesel. June 23, 2021. Eric Stirgus: And then there's been issues that a lot of Republican lawmakers have been bringing up to in the Georgia Legislature in recent years about campus speech issues that they feel that, you know, students and groups cannot speak freely on college campuses, particularly conservatives. [25] Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before tax day. Perdue made his acting debut in "We Are Marshall," a 2006 film about the 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, supporters and staff.. A former two-term governor of Georgia, George Ervin Perdue III, known throughout his life as Sonny, served as Agriculture Secretary from 2017 to 2021. But her critics have said thatwhat she calls a COVID Crime Wave and her handling of the firing of Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot Rayshard Brooks last summer, made her vulnerable if she had chosen to run. He won his first term in 2014 by fewer than 8 percentage points. And then a couple of months later, my colleague Greg Bluestein ran into him at an event and Sonny did say that he was interested in the position, if the regents would have him. But Sonny Perdue was there from the beginning. Earlier this week, Georgia's Board of Regents announced that Sonny Perdue was the sole finalist for the job. Kemp and Perdue are also close political allies, and Kemp recently replaced four members on the board before the vote. [News tape] 11Alive: This is where angry parents are accusing the school board of trying to indoctrinate students with controversial curriculum on race and American history. Sonny Perdue had campaigned on his cousins behalf during David Perdues 2020 re-election campaign, which he narrowly lost to Senator Jon Ossoff. The former two-term Georgia governor has kept his cabinet post until the end, maintaining a close relationship with . [45], During his governorship, the Georgia State Ethics Commission received thirteen complaints against Perdue. Steve Fennessy: How Gov. There may be that short list that some of these members of the Board of Regents have, but they're not allowed to discuss it publicly. The Board of Regents is expected to confirm Perdue's appointment in the next two weeks. The credits are meant to offset the environmental impact of land development and they can be bought and sold on the marketplace. Gov. I cant imagine Sonny Perdue doing that.. Sanders: one of the the most fun, engaging, charming, and charismatic people Ive ever been around. Perdue: he has an amazing instinctive ability to make decisions.. He's also a fierce advocate for Sonny Perdue to land the chancellor job, saying his experience . Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, his critics have a couple of reasons that they're concerned. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told the crowd at last week's event in North Carolina that he got a call from the White House. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. Find them all here. He served as his party's leader in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 and as president pro tempore. The secretarys office contends he has complied with the agreement. Brian Kemp is in a fierce battle with David Perdue. Founder and partner in an agricultural trading company,[4] Perdue served from 2012 to 2017 on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.[3][5] He is the second secretary of agriculture from the Deep South; the first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994. David Perdue is saying, "I'm the big Trump guy here." Both elections are set for Jan. 5, though early voting began on Monday. I'm Steve Fennessy. I'm joined by Eric Stirgus, who covers higher education for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This week, officials on the Board of Regents announced Perdue is the sole finalist for the top job of chancellor. He was the first Republican chosen by Georgians to occupy the governor's mansion since the Reconstruction-era election of Rufus Bullock in 1868. Eric Stirgus: Yeah it's an important issue because, you know, colleges and universities that do not have accreditation, they can their students cannot get federal financial aid that helps pay for tuition for a lot of college students. Sonny Perdue served two terms as governor of Georgia before being named Agriculture Secretary in the Trump administration. Secretary Perdue has visibility into and control over the trusts and their underlying assets, and he continues to benefit from them despite the plain terms of his 2017 ethics agreement, Evers wrote to the inspector general. So those are some of the things that have concerned a lot of state leaders or particularly on the Republican side. Jess Mador is our producer. On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022. So you have 14 members who serve each congressional district in Georgia, and then there are five at-large positions. In 2018, while Perdue was secretary, Soque River Conservation asked the Army Corps to modify the credits held by the company in a way that could boost its value by nearly $3 million, the groups estimate. As governor, Perdue mastered the Trumpian strategy of using know-nothing bigotry as a beard for brazen self-dealing, sometimes involving his own family. Critics argued that the deal should be investigated, and speculated that ADM, which spends millions of dollars on lobbying regardless, used the property sale as a bribe for favorable treatment. Sonny Perdue Age: 75 Birthplace: Perry, Georgia Political History: Georgia state senator, 1991-2002; governor, 2003-2011; U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary, 2017-2021. [27] In 2007, Georgia moved up to 46th place. His name is Sonny Perdue. That decision and the selection of Mr. Perdue are both intrusions on academic freedom, Mr. Boedy, the University of North Georgia professor, said. Steve Fennessy: What form has that opposition taken on college campuses or in academic circles? Some would say the most important job is, you know, making sure that money that comes from the state is sent to the schools and is being spent properly. [News tape] WSB: Gov. Perdue will not improve the state of education as chancellor - he will only ruin it.. [News tape] WSB: As governor, Perdue's record on education is also being called into question. [21] He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in 131 years since Benjamin F. Or are they sometimes coming from outside it? Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. Perdue restructured his original family trust into a new fund that he did not oversee, and the fund then sold off two of his businesses directly involved in agriculture the only assets that posed potential conflicts, according to a USDA spokesperson. But is there a way of, like, by appointing by at least advancing the candidacy of Sonny Perdue for chancellor is this a way for Brian Kemp to gain some political points with some Trump voters out there? Unquote. You know, there were some complaints that, you know, he was involved in some changes that, you know, made it a little bit more difficult for students to get the HOPE scholarship. (Washington, D.C., April 25, 2017) - Sonny Perdue was sworn in as the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by fellow Georgian and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in a brief ceremony today at the Supreme Court building. And then also, you know, maybe among some who might be interested in working for the university system. [46] Perdue failed to disclose his ownership of the property in required financial disclosure forms. At least he is out of the gate. [14][15], Perdue is not related to the family who owns and operates Perdue Farms (commonly associated with the brand "Perdue Chicken").[16][17].