Biofuel policy actions by the Trump administration have again become the reason for a hold on political appointees at USDA. The first time that happened under the Trump administration was when Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, did so on the nomination of Bill Northey to be a key USDA undersecretary. Cruz eventually lifted his hold and Northey won Senate approval.
This time it is Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that is using a hold on USDA nominees over USDA’s role in biofuel policy.
Kennedy told USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue in a letter last week about the hold on the nominations of Scott Hutchins as undersecretary for research, education, and economics; Mindy Brashears as undersecretary for food safety, and Naomi Earp as assistant secretary for civil rights. And he warned Perdue that his hold would be in place until USDA stops interfering with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Kennedy said he is “deeply troubled” about reports that Perdue has been trying to influence EPA decisions on Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs), hardship waivers for refiners that face financial difficulty meeting their RFS blending obligations.
Such involvement by USDA violates the Clean Air Act, which “clearly prevents the secretary of Agriculture from consultation on these waivers,” Kennedy told Perdue in his letter.
“Your efforts in this matter not only disregard the congressional intent of the law, but also threaten thousands of jobs in Louisiana and across the country,” Kennedy wrote.
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