Two new candidates are expected to interview this week for the Ag Secretary position. A DTN report says Abel Maldonado, Jr., a former California Lieutenant Governor, is set to interview for the post with President-elect Donald Trump this week. The other newest candidate is Elsa Murano, a former undersecretary for food safety at the USDA as well as President of Texas A & M University. Ag Secretary is one of the two cabinet nominations the President-elect hasn’t yet made, the other being Veterans Affair Secretary. Maldonado grew up on a strawberry farm near Santa Maria, California. He helped expand the farm from half-acre to 6,000 acres, employing around 250 people. A Trump spokesman says the plan is to interview Murano this week. A prominent member of the Trump Ag Advisory Council says Murano “is strongly opposed by most the Trump transition team.” Current Texas Ag Secretary Sid Miller is also thought to be traveling this week to interview for the Ag Secretary post.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.