Donald Trump nominates Sonny Perdue for agriculture chief

ATLANTA — After weeks of speculation, Donald Trump officially nominates former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue for secretary of agriculture.

The announcement was made Thursday morning.

Perdue was Georgia’s first Republican governor since Reconstruction when he defeated incumbent Democrat Roy Barnes in 2002.

Perdue is from Perry, Georgia, and served primarily on agricultural communities when he was in the General Assembly.

He is also a veterinarian.

Perdue visited Trump Tower last month and met with the president-elect.

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Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke with Gov. Nathan Deal about the selection.

He believes the nomination of two Georgians to Trump's Cabinet -- Sonny Perdue and Tom Price as health and human services secretary -- can only help Georgia.

“I just think it shows Georgia has a lot to offer at the federal level as well as the state level," Deal told Elliot.

Perdue’s cousin, U.S. Sen. David Perdue, issued a statement Wednesday night saying, “Sonny's executive experience as a two-term governor of Georgia as well as his veterinary background and agribusiness career are a few of the many reasons he's the best person for this job."

Perdue will now have to go before the U.S. Senate to get confirmed for the Cabinet position.

If confirmed, Perdue would become the head of a $140 billion agency that dictates the nation’s farm policy and also oversees the food stamp program. He would be the first agriculture secretary from a Southern state since Mike Espy of Mississippi headed the department in the early 1990s.

Here is the full statement from Trump:

President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intention to nominate former Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture.<br/> <br/> As the former governor of a state that produces billions in agricultural products each year, Sonny Perdue has embraced policies under which Georgia farmers have thrived, and he is ready to generate the same level of success on the national level. Having been raised on a farm and worked as a veterinarian, Perdue is deeply in touch with the concerns of American farmers and will fight for their prosperity.<br/> <br/> "Sonny Perdue is going to accomplish great things as Secretary of Agriculture," said President-elect Donald J. Trump. "From growing up on a farm to being governor of a big agriculture state, he has spent his whole life understanding and solving the challenges our farmers face, and he is going to deliver big results for all Americans who earn their living off the land."<br/> <br/> "I am proud and honored to be joining President-elect Trump's administration as his Secretary of Agriculture," said Sonny Perdue. "Beginning as a simple Georgia farm boy, making sure Americans who make their livelihood in the agriculture industry are thriving is near and dear to my heart, and I'm going to champion the concerns of American agriculture and work tirelessly to solve the issues facing our farm families in this new role."<br/> <br/> Sonny Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, to a lifelong farmer and a classroom teacher. He graduated from Warner Robins High School and earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1971 from the University of Georgia. Following his service as a Captain in the United States Air Force, Perdue became a successful small business owner, concentrating in agribusiness and transportation. Today, those businesses have grown to include several locations across the Southeast. After serving on the Houston County, Georgia Planning and Zoning Board during the 1980's, he ran for the Georgia State Senate in 1990 and won. Sonny spent the next 11 years representing his Middle Georgia district in the General Assembly. Perdue left the State Senate in 2001 to begin his successful campaign for Governor, which focused on restoring public trust in state government and empowering all Georgians. Sonny served as Governor from 2003-2011. He, and the former Mary Ruff of Atlanta, have been married for forty-four years. The couple has four children and fourteen grandchildren. Additionally, Sonny and Mary have served as foster parents for eight newborns awaiting adoption.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article. 

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