President Donald Trump has nominated Ted McKinney for Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs and Dr. Sam Clovis for Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. Both have long been rumored to take top seats at the Department of Agriculture for months. McKinney currently serves as the director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and Clovis was a Trump Campaign advisor before serving on the USDA transition team. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said McKinney and Clovis would both be assets to the department. Meanwhile, the White House this week also sent to the Senate Agriculture Committee its notice of intent to nominate Stephen Censky for USDA deputy secretary, paving the way for a Senate vote on the nomination.
