Perdue addressed the crowd, saying "We've come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: to very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain." You know, there was a faction of regents members who were not supportive of him at all. Eric Stirgus: I think you would have many people who would say that it is a political decision or that the board members themselves have, you know, some say depending on their own personal politics. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. That decision and the selection of Mr. Perdue are both intrusions on academic freedom, Mr. Boedy, the University of North Georgia professor, said. After the sale, the huge boiler on the property was sold for approximately $500,000, easily covering the cost of the purchase even if the rest of the land had been valueless. Saeger, of Accountable.US, said the inspector general still needs to review that claim. Sonny Perdue and Brian Kemp have a longstanding relationship politically, and then you have Sonny Perdue's cousin who is running against the governor now in the GOP primary. 11/08/2018 02:42 PM EST. And I understand that he wasn't the biggest supporter of the idea of Sonny Perdue as chancellor. [42] The floods resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties. This week on Georgia Today, we look at some issues Bottoms faced during her tenure as mayor with CNN national correspondentRyan Young. On December 30, 2016, Perdue's company AGrowStar purchased property and a facility from Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), a large American agribusiness corporation that the Department of Agriculture regulates. The secretarys office contends he has complied with the agreement. You know, I guess at the time, they sort of came to an impasse and there was a search firm that was hired to help with the process, but pulled out of the process. The new law saved Perdue $100,000 in state taxes. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? USDAs unprecedented farm subsidies have also fueled criticism that taxpayer dollars are being used to keep farmers and ranchers in Trumps corner ahead of the election especially as the president repeatedly touts the money at campaign rallies as his own personal gift to agriculture. You know, there were some complaints that, you know, he was involved in some changes that, you know, made it a little bit more difficult for students to get the HOPE scholarship. Thanks for listening. [52], During his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, Perdue focused on helping new farmers get started in agriculture. The watchdog groups are now seeking information about whether Perdue was involved in a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers which works with USDA on some wetlands restoration efforts to reallocate Soque River Conservations credits in a way that significantly increased their value. And so, you know, I think he was one of those, you know, members who, you know, was part of that faction were against it. Secretary Perdue was just chastised for his abuse of tax dollars for political purposes by ethics authorities, so we cannot take these claims at face value, he said. Steve Fennessy: Welcome back to Georgia Today. Eric Stirgus: Most of them are designated by congressional district. Eric Stirgus: Publicly, I don't think he's said one way or another right now. A Senate panel backed a bill on Tuesday that would put pressure on local school boards to adhere to the open meetings laws and create barriers to removing disruptive parents from meetings. Eric Stirgus: Georgia's top elected officials constantly talk about, you know, we need workers who are college and career ready, people who can just step into jobs. He won his first term in 2014 by fewer than 8 percentage points. You know, looking at that and he can say that Gov. Steve Fennessy: Initial discussion about the possible candidacy of Sonny Perdue for chancellor for next chancellor of the University of Georgia System, the president of SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Belle Whelan, sends a letter to the chair of the Board of Regents of Georgia. [3], In 2004, Perdue sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block environmental regulations on reformulated gasoline. The Board of Regents is expected to confirm Perdue's appointment in the next two weeks. Trump said Friday that he has directed Perdue to provide at least $16 billion in relief. His name is Sonny Perdue. Both elections are set for Jan. 5, though early voting began on Monday. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. And so, you know, they point to things like that and they also point to issues, you know, point to things that, you know, hey, other states have hired elected officials and former politicians to lead colleges or universities. Subsequently, the trust sold off AGrowStar LLC and Pro Ag Products LLC (none of the other assets posed any conflict of interest with his duties as Secretary of Agriculture). The harangue, which ended with the ag secretary leading a chant of four more years, earned Perdue a knuckle-rap from the Office of Special Counsel for violating the Hatch Act, which forbids government employees from campaigning while on the job. Unquote. Perdue is poised within . In research shared with POLITICO, Accountable.US alleges that farm policies backed by the secretary could potentially have benefited his own or his familys interests beyond the two agribusinesses that were sold. So let's go into November with me as your nominee.". So Sonny Perdue is very much in the good graces of Donald Trump. [News tape] WSB: In a statement, Perdue said education funding was affected by twin recessions while he was governor. In July, as the general election heated up, the department tapped a Depression-era funding mechanism called the Commodity Credit Corporation to come up with $14 billionwithout having to consult Congressto hand to producers of commodities like corn, soybeans and wheat, ostensibly for losses due to the coronavirus. There, he managed a workforce of 110,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the stated objective of being the most efficient, effective and customer-friendly agency in the . Alec Poitevint, long a pivotal player in the Perdue network, is now backing Kemp over David Perdue. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has long been President Donald Trumps most effective advocate among rural voters. But last year, he disclosed he had become trustee of a newly formed fund that includes many of the same assets as his original family trust. Steve Fennessy: How big is the university system? [67], Regardless of whether the deal was intended to influence Perdue's actions, and if it was if it actually had any impact, the Perdue years were good ones for ADM. You know, he also backed Brian Kemp to fill the position of Secretary of State. In April, before the Board of Regents selected Mr. Perdue, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges sent it a warning letter stating that the appointment of a former governor could place the accreditation of the institution(s) they govern in jeopardy.. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. The regents hired another firm, and then it put Ms. McCartney as acting chancellor, and so there really hasn't been much movement up until, I guess, the last few weeks. Caught in the middle of a Republican overhaul of education, teachers feel under attack, Senate bill cracks down on local school boards' ability to eject disruptive parents from meetings. Citing export losses from Trumps trade war with China, the USDA lavished mainly huge soybean, hog, and cotton farmers with $28 billion in 2018 and 2019more than double the price tag of President Barack Obamas 2009 auto bailout. But Perdue is struggling. (David Perdue is now locked in a tight runoff election that could decide which party controls the Senate in the next Congress.). [1][10] He grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. I'm joined by Eric Stirgus, who covers higher education for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You know, Steve Wrigley, you know, he worked in the university system before he became chancellor, so he did have some of that experience. He continued his effort to cut their wages, ultimately teaming with the Department of Labor on a rule change that will result in an aggregate wage cut worth at least $170.68 million annually over the next ten yearsa transfer of money from low-wage workers to relatively wealthy farm owners. Along with the recent Hatch Act violation, Perdue is facing blowback from Democrats and food banks for requiring all contractors under a $4 billion coronavirus relief program to stuff promotional letters signed by Trump into millions of food boxes delivered to hungry families. Eric Stirgus: There are 26 institutions in the system. Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. Eric Stirgus: And then there's been issues that a lot of Republican lawmakers have been bringing up to in the Georgia Legislature in recent years about campus speech issues that they feel that, you know, students and groups cannot speak freely on college campuses, particularly conservatives. Georgias public university system said on Tuesday that former Gov. publicly condemned how the university system selected Mr. Perdue, will be the first woman to head the institution, a large-scale, low-cost online Master of Science degree program. The office directed the USDA chief to reimburse the government for travel expenses and other costs of the event. Steve Fennessy: So I'm guessing that maybe he wants to stay out of this altogether, or do we know if he is going to make any kind of public statement endorsing one way or the other? Although it returned to last place in 2005,[26] Georgia rose to 49th place in 2006 in the combined math and reading mean score, including the writing portion added to the test that year. Perdue made his acting debut in "We Are Marshall," a 2006 film about the 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, supporters and staff.. The board cited Perdue's, quote, "vast understanding of the issues facing the university system," unquote. Kudlow used the opportunity to fluff Trumps economic record. The Board of Regents announced that the former Republican governor is its choice to become chancellor. We've been hearing that Gov. Perdue and a partner purchased the agricultural land in 2009 and later earned so-called mitigation bank credits for converting the tract for wetland conservation purposes, according to the watchdog organizations. Sonny Perdue Age: 75 Birthplace: Perry, Georgia Political History: Georgia state senator, 1991-2002; governor, 2003-2011; U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary, 2017-2021. Brian Kemp is not. Brian Kemp: That's why I'm looking forward to working with the members of the General Assembly this legislative session to protect our students from the divisive ideologies like critical race theory. Like Trump, hes a former Democrat who ascended to political power (in Perdues case, Georgia governor) in a stunning upset. [50], In September 2017, Politico reported that, according to 42 reviewed resumes, the department hired 22 former Trump campaign workers, many of which had no significant agricultural knowledge or experience with federal policies. And so now he's no longer on the regents. The secretarys numerous and labyrinthine financial interests in agribusiness and land development makes it essential that his ethical commitments be rigorously enforced so as not to create a conflict of interest, Austin Evers, the groups executive director, wrote last week in a letter to the IGs office. He also has largely avoided the sort of major scandals that have dogged many others in Trumps Cabinet. Secretary Perdue has visibility into and control over the trusts and their underlying assets, and he continues to benefit from them despite the plain terms of his 2017 ethics agreement, Evers wrote to the inspector general. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "As the vigil ended, the sun shone through what had been a cloudy morning.