The Senate Agriculture Committee is getting closer to scheduling a confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue, but still needs some paperwork from the White House. The Washington Post reports needed paperwork was submitted last week, more than seven weeks after President Donald Trump nominated the former Georgia governor to the post at the Department of Agriculture. But a spokesperson for Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow, the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, says the committee still needs Perdue’s ethics paperwork and FBI background check, as of Friday. Perdue’s ethics forms are also missing from the Office of Government Ethics website, which posts the documents when they are completed.
The ethics agreements identify potential conflicts of interest and how they will be resolved. Perdue has had businesses in grain trading, trucking, and exports. It is unclear whether any of those interests are causing the holdup.
Source: NAFB News Service