The FALF Management Trust had no conflicting assets with his duties as Secretary of Agriculture, and therefore the Secretary could become a trustee of the trust. Many credit Pierre Howard for helping Perdue build the early foundation of what would become his future political career.[20]. Republican Sen. David Perdue, a former Fortune 500 CEO, will face off against Democrat Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old media executive, again in a runoff election Jan. 5. [58][59], Under Perdue, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) was accused of suppressing scientific publications for political reasons. So without that accreditation, it could severely impact, you know, enrollment. Perdues response? His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017. The secretarys 2019 filing also shows nearly $140,000 in income from Soque River Conservation LLC, which holds land along the Soque River in northern Georgia and is held by a separate trust that Perdue first reported last year. We've been hearing that Gov. Here to help us make sense of the implications of all this is Eric Stirgis, who covers higher education at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. after feeling punished under Trump, "Economists flee Agriculture Dept. I'm Steve Fennessy. 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. From the year 2017 to 2021, George has served as the 31st United States Secretary Of Agriculture. Perdue and the department have argued that the move will lower living costs, save . [News tape] 11Alive: This is where angry parents are accusing the school board of trying to indoctrinate students with controversial curriculum on race and American history. Some would say the most important job is, you know, making sure that money that comes from the state is sent to the schools and is being spent properly. [News tape] WSB: In a statement, Perdue said education funding was affected by twin recessions while he was governor. [News tape] WSB: As governor, Perdue's record on education is also being called into question. [7] His appointment was approved by an 8711 vote by the Senate on April 24. [61][62], In February 2020, Perdue endorsed putting a price on carbon dioxide, a climate change policy favored by many economists. The Washington Post detailed several wish-list items that ADM achieved: loosening of regulations on pork production, fewer inspections, helping lobby against proposed government bans on glyphosate by Thailand and Vietnam, and promoting ethanol and biodiesel. Steve Fennessy: Chancellor of the University System of Georgia it's one of the most coveted jobs in higher education. Last month, the U.S. State Department said it will start processing more applicants seeking H-2A temporary. Our engineers are Jesse Nighswonger and Jake Cook. However, most served in the early years of the war and were either forced at gunpoint or feared reprisals for disloyalty. Gov. Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. The commitments entailed moving his holdings into a new trust and agreeing not to serve as a trustee or beneficiary of the fund. Yes, there is a acting chancellor. [43], Beginning in 2007, Governor Perdue began to pursue the goal of making Georgia the "bass-fishing tourism mecca". I think Steve really was making maybe about a half million dollars when he retired, so that's way more than the governor of Georgia was making. And Sonny Perdue was one of the only, if not the only cabinet member who went the distance in the Donald Trump administration. Steve Fennessy: So there's a school of thought that Gov. He also talked about, you know, bringing stability to the system. Revoking accreditation to schools including the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State and Georgia Southern would be a monumental step. Steve Fennessy: You mentioned that there's a long political history between Sonny Perdue and Brian Kemp. Sonny Perdue was its sole finalist to become chancellor, a choice that has outraged some professors and led a. after feeling punished under Trump", 'It feels like something out of a bad sci-fi movie', The Trump administration is suppressing climate science, "US agriculture secretary breaks ranks to endorse carbon pricing", "USDA chief violated Hatch Act by advocating for Trump re-election, gov't watchdog says", "USDA's Perdue fined for violating Hatch Act while promoting food boxes", "Perdue rebuked for violating ethics law by boosting Trump's reelection", "The land was worth millions. He's a two-term former governor, Secretary of Agriculture. [46] The land was adjacent to the 20,000 acres (81km2) Oaky Woods preserve being sold by Weyerhaeuser. Steve Fennessy: Sonny Perdue is a Republican, so when he uses an expression like Cultural Revolution, what is he referring to? Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Oversight group isnt reviewing Georgia regents choice of Sonny Perdue. Launched in October 2019, a week after the House of Representatives announced an impeachment inquiry against Trump, the show began with an appearance from Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Not that Perdue lacks national stature - he was the governor of Georgia, a heavily agricultural state, from 2003 to 2011. [46] After the state dropped out of the bidding and the land was sold to developers, the value of Perdue's property more than doubled. Earlier this week, Georgia's Board of Regents announced that Sonny Perdue was the sole finalist for the job. I'm Steve Fennessy. Eric Stirgus: You know, and then there have been other instances where, you know, Sonny has supported now-Gov. Quite honestly, I've been in the private sector for 30 years. [60] In August 2019, Lewis Ziska, a USDA plant physiology climate scientist, quit after department administrators attempted to impede the publication of one of his studies in the journal Science Advances. The U.S. Senate confirmed Secretary Perdue by a vote of 87-to-11 on Monday evening. [21] He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in 131 years since Benjamin F. All Rights Reserved. Perdue led Ossoff in the . Jess Mador is the lead podcast producer at GPB News. The property (in Estill, South Carolina) had originally been purchased by ADM for 5.5 million dollars, and independent assessments and government tax assessors agree on that as a fair range; however, AGrowStar was offered the property for US$250,000, a fraction of its value. In fact, for the next two weeks after the prayer, the state's epic dry streak grew worse. 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. Critics argued that the deal should be investigated, and speculated that ADM, which spends millions of dollars on lobbying regardless, used the property sale as a bribe for favorable treatment. But Perdue is struggling. The United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry overwhelmingly approved his nomination on March 30, with a 191 vote. Thanks for listening. Kemp continues to be grateful for that support, and he feels some, you know, some loyalty, from what we've been hearing from our sources towards Sonny Perdue. Lance Cheung/USDA; Mother Jones Illustration. In 2018, while Perdue was secretary, Soque River Conservation asked the Army Corps to modify the credits held by the company in a way that could boost its value by nearly $3 million, the groups estimate. This is diversity and inclusion. "The. [25] Perdue then used the new law on his 2004 tax return to defer $100,000 in taxable gains from the sale of land. Eric Stirgus: It was pretty newsy for us. The terms of two of those members expired at the beginning of January, and Gov. He served two terms,. 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. Steve Fennessy: Matthew Boedy, a University of North Georgia professor and president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors, told the New York Times that, quote, "a chancellor's job is to defend the system against such bills. Sonny Perdue has long mixed personal and political business to benefit his friends and business associates and he's on track to do it again. I can't imagine Sonny Perdue doing that." 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. They range from Georgia State University, which has the most students in the system, like about 53,000 students; Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State both of those schools have about 40,000 students each and then University of Georgia. [30], In 2001, Democratic governor Roy Barnes replaced the 1956 state flag, which incorporated the battle flag of the Confederacy, and which had been adopted by Georgia largely as a protest against desegregation. 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. Feb. 15, 2022 Georgia's public university system said on Tuesday that former Gov. [24] During his governorship, Perdue collected at least $25,000 in gifts, including sporting event tickets and airplane flights. [51], Perdue was the designated survivor on January 30, 2018, for President Trump's first State of the Union address. That's next. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. A longtime Atlanta-based journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of Atlanta magazine. The reallocation entailed raising the companys holdings of highly valuable wetlands credits while lowering its portion of much cheaper stream credits. Using the CCC to hand billions to big farmersmajor Trump supporters in 2016 is a signature move of Perdues USDA. 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." All Rights Reserved. [23] Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had compiled an inventory of what assets were owned by the state. It's a little off the beaten path. [67], Perdue and his wife, Mary (ne Ruff), were married in 1972 after dating for four years. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. The latest scrutiny stems from Perdues wealth of current and former interests in agriculture, trucking and land development a complex web of trusts, land parcels, holding companies and subsidiaries. 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. Sonny Perdue, of course, was a two-term governor of Georgia, as well as secretary of agriculture under former President Donald Trump. The former two-term Georgia governor has kept his cabinet post until the end, maintaining a close relationship with . Across the state, teachers have found themselves caught in a conservative battle to ban divisive topics from classrooms, which Republican lawmakers define as a various list of ideas regarding race. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) abstained, as they are first cousins. Kemp replaced them with two additional members. Earlier this week, Georgia's Board of Regents announced that Sonny Perdue was the sole finalist for the job. 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. As expected, the board named former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as its sole finalist to head the University System of Georgia. of Agriculture", "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress 1st Session", "Sonny Perdue Named Chancellor of the University System of Georgia", "Meet David PerdueHe Might Be Georgia's Next Senator", National Governors Association: Sonny Perdue, "Trump taps former Georgia governor for agriculture secretary", "Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue Perdue Farms Plans Major Expansion in Georgia", "Official Results of the November 5, 2002 General Election", "Ethical Lapses Trail Nominee For Agriculture Conflicts of Interest as Governor of Georgia", "3 minutes, 1 tax bill, $100,000 for Sonny Perdue", "Georgia climbs in SAT rankings despite drop in score", "2008 SAT Results Highlight Need for Rigor", "Georgia View: Sonny Perdue's Non-Legacy", "Georgia leaders try to skip controversy in flag vote", "Tom Price, Kasim Reed, Sonny Perdue and the Art of the Georgia Deal", "Statement of Governor Sonny Perdue Regarding Court Ruling to Stay Transition to Reformulated Gasoline", "Georgia Enacts a Tough Law on Immigrants", The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth", "Trump could name Agriculture Secretary whose drought strategy was to pray for rain", "Yes, There Were Black Confederates. [46] Perdue failed to disclose his ownership of the property in required financial disclosure forms. Entitled President Trumps Affection for American Farmers, the episode featured the host and former White House press secretary competing to see who could lavish the most praise on Trump. At the beginning of 2020, Perdue yearned publicly for a way to cut federally mandated wages for migrant farm workers on guest visas. Georgia Today: Is Mayor Bottoms Paying The Political Cost For A COVID Crime Wave? [57] Current and former employees of the ERS were strongly critical of the relocation to Kansas City, saying the resulting exodus of scientific and economic talent caused disruption to federal research, especially on climate change and food security. 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? Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who like Grassley is up for reelection in 2022, said he hasn't "paid a lot of attention" to Georgia's governor race, saying "we got our hands full . The administration began acquiring bond money for the Go Fish Education Center near his home in Perry, GA. Looking at the pandemic, they've also had to take on some additional responsibilities, such as, you know, managing coronavirus relief funds. The crux of the watchdog complaint comes down to a handful of Perdues businesses the secretary reported as sources of income, at least a half-million dollars, on his 2019 filing. On April 1, 2022, Perdue took over as the system's 14th chancellor. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000", "Agriculture secretary pick Perdue led big political change in Georgia", "Official: Perdue flew copter without license", "Governor Perdue Makes Acting Debut in "We Are Marshall", Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Perdue&oldid=1142223043, Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators, Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators, Presidents pro tempore of the Georgia State Senate, Republican Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state), Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state), Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 05:05. Steve Fennessy: The last full-time permanent chancellor, why did they leave? Sanders: one of the the most fun, engaging, charming, and charismatic people Ive ever been around. Perdue: he has an amazing instinctive ability to make decisions.. Charles S. Bullock, III, The Georgia Political Almanac, The General Assembly 199394. The Board of Regents named Dr. Sonny Perdue the 14th chancellor of the University System of Georgia effective April 1, 2022. Similarly, while the pandemic savaged meatpacking workers, killing at least 563 as of mid-December, the ag department kept on with a trend it had started in 2019: allowing giant poultry companies to speed up their slaughterhouse kill lines. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. The design of the 2001 Georgian flag was widely unpopular, being derisively named the "Barnes flag". Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue pledged in 2017 to separate himself from his multimillion dollar business holdings that could pose conflicts of interest in his public duties. Since joining the Trump administration, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue's complicated network of ties to Georgia-based entities including his family's company, Perdue Partners raised questions about potential conflicts of interest as well as his working relationship with his cousin, Georgia Sen. David Perdue. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? Perdue claimed a combined $511,800 in income from Perdue Inc., a trucking company; Houston Fertilizer & Grain Co., which manages commercial real estate in Bonaire, Ga.; and StarPort Logistics LLC. And then also, you know, maybe among some who might be interested in working for the university system. 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. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Copyright 2023 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. RELATED: Oversight group isnt reviewing Georgia regents choice of Sonny Perdue. 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. @SecretarySonny (to use his folksy Twitter handle) stayed the course that characterized his entire time at UDSA. Like Trump, hes a former Democrat who ascended to political power (in Perdues case, Georgia governor) in a stunning upset. It is no surprise that these made up accusations are coming out in the final weeks of October. So those are some of the things that have concerned a lot of state leaders or particularly on the Republican side. The Perdue USDAs largesse to large-scale farmers and agribusinesses went beyond cutting wages and protective measures for their workers. Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, there's just some uncertainty among many faculty members about, you know, who will eventually serve in the position and you know what role they may take on, you know, on this, you know, systems operations. Sonny Perdue won the 2002 Georgia governor's race, defeating the incumbent, Democrat Roy Barnes, to become the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction. After serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly. [22], Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate. American Oversight is now calling on the inspector general to investigate whether Perdue improperly participated in any such decision, given his ethics pledge to stay out of any matters that might have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of the assets in his trusts. And besides the national prominence afforded any state governor, Perdue garnered widespread attention for his actions in 2007 during the worst drought in Georgia's history. [14] He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the senator representing the 18th district. But then prior to him, you had Errol Davis, who was a utilities company executive and he had no administrative experience in higher education. [29] Perdue also created additional opportunities for charter schools and private schools. American Oversight and another watchdog group, Accountable.US, claim that violates Perdues 2017 agreement with ethics officials that he would restructure his original family trust and transfer all of its stock in Perdue Business Holdings to a new, irrevocable trust that wouldnt be overseen by or benefit the secretary. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. And so now he's no longer on the regents. This week on Georgia Today, we look at some issues Bottoms faced during her tenure as mayor with CNN national correspondentRyan Young. Sonny Perdue issues state of emergency for 17 Georgia counties", "Perdue fails to disclose '04 purchase of land", "Trump to announce Sonny Perdue for Agriculture", "Sonny Perdue Sworn in as 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture", "Trump hires campaign workers instead of farmworkers at USDA", "Sonny Perdue is Trump's 'designated survivor' for State of the Union 2018", "Perdue tells second Iowa Ag Summit he wants to support new farmers", "Trump administration to return refined grains to school lunches", Many USDA workers to quit as research agencies move to Kansas City: 'The brain drain we all feared', ERS union predicts mass exodus ahead of relocation, 'Cut, Relocate, Eviscerate': Moving a USDA Research Agency Will Have Lasting Consequences, Employees Say, Economists flee Agriculture Dept. [News tape] FOX5: The choice of Perdue has already drawn criticism from student groups and university professors who describe Perdue as a career politician with no experience in higher education. Steve Fennessy: Yeah. There's been some social media push against him. Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. How did we find out about that? I cant imagine Sonny Perdue doing that.. The likely appointment of Mr. Perdue, a Republican, comes during a volatile time in Georgia politics, with the State Legislature considering several bills that would ban, or limit, how race and activism are taught in the classroom. Georgia Today is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. [12], In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level. 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. The . Steve Fennessy: What form has that opposition taken on college campuses or in academic circles? While Perdue puffed up the generosity of his boss, the USDA was busy botching the food-relief effort, awarding fat contracts to distributors ill-equipped to handle them, with the result that some parts of the country got a lot of food, while others got very little, NPR reported. That relationship famously has gone has gone south. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, payments on the Go Fish bonds, approved by Perdue and the General Assembly in 2007, runs through December 2027 with most payments $1 million a year in bond money. Steve Fennessy: As you said, Sonny Perdue persuaded Donald Trump when he was president to endorse Brian Kemp. The board cited Perdue's, quote, "vast understanding of the issues facing the university system," unquote. [News tape] 11Alive: He tweeted, "Brian Kemp is running for governor of the Great State of Georgia. You can keep up with Georgia today by subscribing to the show at GPB.org. 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. I give him my full and total endorsement.". You know, he was brought on actually, you know, during Sonny Perdue's tenure to take on the job. The first two companies are managed by Perdues children, according to Georgia records. [69] Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia. He also has largely avoided the sort of major scandals that have dogged many others in Trumps Cabinet. Perdue is poised within . One is there was a group of students who created a group called Students against Sonny. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told the crowd at last week's event in North Carolina that he got a call from the White House. Not surprisingly, the news has dismayed many, both inside and outside of academic circles, who worry that Sonny Perdue is conservative politics will set the university system on a dangerous course and even put the system's accreditation at risk. At least he is out of the gate. [6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19-1 voice vote on March 30. What Is Sonny Perdue Doing Now? Secretary Perdue complied with his ethics agreement and followed the advice of ethics officers at USDA when he restructured the Perdue Family Revocable Management Trust into a new family management trust, in which the secretary and his wife had no ownership interest and were not trustees, the spokesperson said in a statement. And I'm curious about why it's elicited such a ferocious response on the side of those who are for the idea, but also those who are against it. It's called critical race theory, but other parents and some students said that's not what's going on in the classrooms at all. Eric Stirgus: Yeah, I mean, and that's the argument that many of Kemp's team has said. The COVID-19 crisis served as yet another opportunity to promote the political fortunes of his boss, without impeding his pursuit of a pro-agribusiness, anti-worker agenda. Governor Pierre Howard asking for more responsibilities, and Howard obliged. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017. He served as his party's leader in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 and as president pro tempore.
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