AGRICULTURE SECRETARY NOMINEE TO FACE SENATORS

Former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue on Thursday will finally appear for a confirmation hearing on his nomination to be secretary of agriculture after reaching an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics to avoid conflicts of interest.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is taking up the nomination 73 days after President Trump made his final Cabinet pick on the day before he was inaugurated. The delay in Perdue’s consideration followed his decision to take steps to avoid the appearance of real conflicts of interest. As governor, Perdue declined to place his assets in a blind trust.

Perdue was the subject of 13 complaints to the Georgia State Ethics Commission while he was governor, including two in which fines were imposed.

Perdue, 70, will have his family wealth preservation trust restructured so that he will have no say in its investments.