President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated an open climate change skeptic with no credentials in agricultural research, science or medicine for the top scientific post at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in a statement praised Trump’s nomination of Sam Clovis, a former conservative talk radio show host and professor of business and public policy, for the position.
Perdue said Clovis “has become a trusted advisor and steady hand” who “looks at every problem with a critical eye, relying on sound science and data.”
Clovis has openly questioned the scientific proof for climate change, in a departure from the scientific consensus. In 2014, Clovis said he was “extremely skeptical” of that consensus.
“I have looked at the science and I have enough of a science background to know when I’m being boofed,” he said in an interview on Iowa Public Radio. “And a lot of the science is junk science. It’s not proven.”
Propublica in May reported that Clovis has a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s in business administration and a doctorate in public administration, but does not appear to have published any scientific papers.
Clovis in October 2016 said Trump’s policy on agriculture would focus on trade and regulation rather than climate change.
“Mr. Trump is a skeptic on climate change, and we need more science,” he told E&E News. “Once we get more science, we are going to make decisions.”
I suspect he’s an expert in food.
American farmers and agribusinesses voted overwhelmingly for Trump, so they get what they deserve out of these fools.
More specifically:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/05/23/529685787/congress-and-farmers-are-shocked-by-proposed-usda-cuts
Normally I’d think that this policy extremism would provide a golden opportunity for the Democratic Party to recoup some of its losses in rural areas, but I’m not sure the Dems know how to do that. It’s sad, considering that not too many years ago there were plenty of solid liberal Dem Congresspeople from the farm states.
Does he have any qualifications for USDA, beyond having eaten more than his fair share of cholesterol-laden foods?
8889 pointsI’d say, well, maybe THEN they’ll figure out that Goopers are not good for them.
But, of course, there is Brownback sucking the lifeblood out of Kansas and still getting the farm votes. So, my only conclusion is that there seems to be absolute no ability to understand cause and effect…