The Senate on Monday confirmed Sonny Perdue to serve as President Trump’s first agriculture secretary, the second-to-last spot in Trump’s Cabinet to be filled.
Perdue, a former two-term governor of Georgia, was easily confirmed Monday evening, three months after he was nominated to the post. Perdue endured a lengthy confirmation process due to his complicated financial ties and issues surrounding the White House.
However, Perdue ultimately earned bipartisan support as the Senate voted 87 to 11 in confirm him.
Perdue similarly received strong support from the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, which approved his nomination 19-1. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was the only nay vote against the nomination.
With Perdue’s nomination, the lone Cabinet nominee remaining to be confirmed is Alex Acosta, who Trump nominated to serve as labor secretary. Acosta was nominated after former CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder withdrew his nomination as several Republicans threatened to vote against him in February.
Throughout the opening months of his presidency, Trump decried obstructionist efforts on the part of Senate Democrats, who have used the maximum time allowed to debate on many of the president’s Cabinet nominees. Nearing the 100-day marker, the White House continues to blame Democratic obstruction, particularly as questions arise over their nomination of only 45 people to government jobs compared to 85 under George W. Bush and 176 under Bill Clinton.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus lashed out at those tactics during an appearance on “Meet The Press” on Sunday morning.
“We have hundreds of people in the queue. Here’s what happens when you slow down these nominations. When you slow down the nominations, you can’t actually clear someone for a nomination into the Senate,” Priebus said. “We’re behind, but because of historical unbelievable obstruction from U.S. senators that are acting inappropriately.”
A vote on Acosta’s nomination, meanwhile, is not expected until May.
