Perdue is confirmed as agriculture secretary; Trump plans meeting with farm groups

Sonny Perdue

UPDATE: The Senate confirmed Perdue; here's a story from The Washington Post. Meanwhile, the White House announced that the president will issue an executive order promoting agriculture and rural prosperity, with details to be released at 9 p.m.

Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to be confirmed today as Agriculture secretary, Phil Brasher reports for Agri-Pulse. The vote is set for today at 5:30 p.m. ET, with Perdue to be sworn in on Tuesday. President Trump already has scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with farm groups to talk about their concerns.

"The White House roundtable meeting with farmers is expected to focus at least in part on trade issues and the Farm Bill, according to two sources familiar with the plans," Brasher writes. "The president is also expected to sign an executive order dealing with ag-related issues. The White House agriculture adviser, Ray Starling, is speaking to members of the North American Agricultural Journalists [today]. NAAJ, which is holding its annual meeting this week, will hear from the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House agriculture committees on Tuesday."