A Trump win won’t bring Sonny Perdue back to USDA

If Donald Trump does win back the Presidency, it’s unlikely that Sonny Perdue will make a repeat performance as Secretary of Agriculture, Feedstuff Daily  is reporting.

Perdue says he has no interest in returning to the federal government,  but. It’s a question he gets a lot these days.  “I tell everybody I would rather be married,” he says. He and wife Mary Ruff have been married for 52 years.

The former two term Georgia governor is now serving as University System of Georgia chancellor, which Perdue says is the most impactful role he’s held.  As Chancellor, he is responsible for 345,000 students. The system includes 26 institutions of higher learning, including the University of Georgia in Athens.

Perdue says he has fond memories of his four years as Secretary of Agriculture and, maintains a good friendship with current Secretary Tom Vilsack but believes the old team has no business interfering with the new one.

“It’s their time and they can swing at the pitches they want,” Perdue said. “That’s my opinion of the way democracy works.”

Perdue does not have any regrets about his time as Agriculture Secretary. He thinks USDA did some good things during his tenure. If Trump had won the 2020 election, he was prepared to stay on if asked.

Looking back, Perdue told Feedstuffs the most challenging part of the job was assembling a team across the country with expertise in all the areas USDA covers. He credits Trump for empowering him to run the department, instructing him only to “take care of my farmers and ranchers.”

Perdue is not alone in finding life after USDA in higher education. Mindy Brashears, Perdue’s Under Secretary for Food Safety, is currently Associate Vice President of Research at Texas Tech University, where she is also a Professor of Food Safety and Public Heath.

Perdue, a former Democrat, defeated Democrat Gov. Roy Barnes in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006.  He was in office when, in 2007-08, a Georgia peanut processor was found responsible for a multi-state Salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands and was responsible for several deaths.

When President Trump named him, Perdue became only the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South. The first was Mike Espy of Mississippi.

Perdue served in the U.S. Air Force and held the rank of Captain at discharge. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVR). 

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