The decisive comeback victory by Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election has kicked off the political parlour game of speculating who the president-elect might choose to serve in key cabinet roles.
It appears the Trump team is much more organized than it was in 2016 and ready to hit the ground running with appointments to the executive branch, led by the naming of Trump loyalist and campaign manager Susie Wiles as the first female White House chief of staff on Thursday.
There’s a diverse list of candidates said to be in the running for the agriculture post and related advisory roles in the Trump 2.0 administration, and they bring a wide swath of philosophies on the direction that the U.S. Department of Agriculture should take. Here are some of the names we’re seeing and hearing:
- Robert Kennedy Jr. has certainly been vocal on agriculture and food-related files with his Make America Healthy Campaign and Trump promising to unleash Kennedy on America’s health and food policies. The vaccine-skeptic Kennedy has been a harsh critic of many mainstream farming practices, products, and technologies, including glyphosate, GMOs, and seed oils, while supporting small-scale, regenerative agriculture and soil health. Even though the Senate will be Republican-controlled, Kennedy’s ideas might go too far for him to get confirmed to a cabinet post. It’s more likely he’ll serve in an advisory role on health or food files.
- Sid Miller is currently the Texas ag commissioner, a rodeo rider, and a strong MAGA supporter.
- Kip Tom has been one of the leaders of Trump’s Farmers and Ranchers Coalition and would bring deep Midwest agriculture roots to the role. He served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization from 2019 to 2021. A large farmer from Indiana, Tom was spotted at Trump’s election night party in Mar-a-Lago. Tom’s loyalty to Trump since the very beginning will be in his favour. He would be a popular pick in mainstream U.S. agriculture, but would potentially run into conflicts with some of the more anti-corporate disruptive policy ideas coming from influential players like Kennedy and vice-president-elect JD Vance.
- Ted McKinney served as agriculture undersecretary for trade during Trump’s first term and has served as the CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture since 2021. Similar to Tom, McKinney has decades of experience and would be considered less disruptive to American farm policy than some of the other names on this list. His background in working to reduce trade barriers and promote American ag products around the world might stand out in a protectionist Trump administration.
- Abel Maldonado, former Republican Lieutenant Governor of California, was said to be considered for ag secretary in 2017.
- Zippy Duval, who runs a large mixed farm operation in Georgia, has served as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation since 2016. Duval would be a possible favourite suggestion of former US ag secretary Sonny Perdue.
- Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican representative from Kentucky, is a wild card who has aligned himself with Kennedy on food policies. He’s likely a long-shot, especially if the Republicans don’t have many seats to give up to hold control of the House. Well-known alternative farmer and author Joel Salatin, on his blog this week, said Massie had been tapped to serve as ag secretary, with Salatin taking an advisory role within USDA, but the report of Massie’s appointment appears to be unsubstantiated.
- Ray Starling of North Carolina is a lesser known candidate who has held prominent roles in U.S. ag policy around Trump, serving as chief of staff to former ag secretary Sonny Perdue and special assistant and advisor roles to the president on agricultural matters.
- Doug Burgum, the North Dakota governor who ran for the Republican presidential nomination and then backed Trump, is being considered for cabinet. One of the few candidates on this list from the northern U.S., Burgum would potentially bring more context regarding the relationship with Canada to the role. Some have predicted Burgum could land in the energy secretary role given the importance of that industry to North Dakota.
- Sherry Vinton, Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director, would be another candidate if Trump is wanting someone connected to Midwest agriculture.
There’s also an argument to be made that the appointment of the U.S. Trade Representative will be just as critical to agriculture, especially in Canada, as the pick for ag secretary.
Robert Lighthizer, possibly America’s biggest fan of tariffs and cutting trade deficits, is a candidate to serve as U.S. Trade Representative again, but he’s also in the running for the commerce and treasury secretary roles. If he gets one of those other posts, there’s a high chance the new USTR will be someone who worked closely with Lighthizer during his 2016-20 stint and shares similar views on trade policy, such as his former chief of staff Jamieson Grier, former Lighthizer deputy Jeffrey Gerrish, or former ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty.
(Written in collaboration with Shaun Haney)