Trump, still looking for ag secretary, will interview former Texas A & M president

UPDATE, Dec. 29: "Former California Lieutenant Gov. Abel Maldonado Jr. is set to interview for the U.S. secretary of agriculture post with President-elect Donald Trump this week," Jerry Hagstrom and Todd Neeley report for DTN/The Progressive Farmer. "Gary Baise, a lawyer and prominent member of Trump's campaign agricultural advisory committee, told DTN on Monday that Murano is 'opposed strongly by majority of Trump team.'"

Elsa Murano

President-elect Donald Trump has made most of his Cabinet selections, but the job of secretary of agriculture has yet to be filled. This week he is scheduled to interview Elsa Murano, former president of Texas A & M University and undersecretary for food safety in the George W. Bush administration, report Emily Ngo and Laura Figueroa of Newsday.

"Murano, a Cuban-American immigrant, is joining Susan Combs, the former Texas comptroller and agricultural commissioner, and Sid Miller, the current agricultural commissioner, on Trump's list for USDA chief," reports Jordan Rudner of the Dallas Morning News. "Murano, the school's first woman and first Hispanic president, had political friction with then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other high-ranking Perry loyalists, which some speculate led to her eventual ousting." Trump has picked Perry for energy secretary

Miller used a sexual slur to to Hillary Clinton in a tweet, reports The Washington Post. Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota has also been mentioned; her selection would please Republican senators, since a Republican would be likely to win the special election for her seat. Some Republicans were irked that Trump picked Montana U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke for interior secretary, because ZInke was considered their best bet to bear Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018.