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President-elect Donald Trump has picked Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to lead the Agriculture Department, transition officials confirm.

The selection, which is expected to be formally announced on Thursday, ends a months-long drama surrounding the last position in Trump's Cabinet to be named.

Perdue, whose name was one of the first to surface as a possible pick for the USDA post, following his trip to Trump Tower in late November, seems to satisfy the agriculture industry's request for someone with farming experience. He grew up on a row crop farm in central Georgia and is an original member of Trump's Agricultural Advisory Committee that launched in August.

The pick means Trump won't have a Hispanic in his Cabinet, breaking a precedent that stretched back to Ronald Reagan. Trump ran a divisive campaign that alienated many Hispanics with threats of deportation and building a wall, but Hispanic leaders and some of his aides tried to convince him to choose a Hispanic member.

Tuesday night, Trump officials said Abel Maldonado, the former California lieutenant governor, was still in the running. He was spotted at the bar at Trump's Washington hotel and posted several photos of the hotel on Twitter.

During his two terms as governor of Georgia, from 2003 to 2011, Perdue pursued economic development through trade and raised the profile of the Port of Savannah. He also focused on cutting government spending and improving education in the state. He is on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

The 70-year-old prospective future Agriculture secretary has, since 1977, owned several small agribusiness and transportation companies. His most recent venture, Perdue Partners, facilitates the exports of U.S. goods and services and was launched in 2011 with three people Perdue appointed to state positions while serving as governor. That includes his cousin, Republican Sen. David Perdue, who was on the board of the Georgia Ports Authority and has been a vocal supporter of Trump.

Perdue earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1971 from the University of Georgia before serving as a captain in the United States Air Force.


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