Donald Trump is expected to appoint former Senator Kelly Loeffler as Secretary of Agriculture, CNN reported Friday.
Loeffler previously served as Georgia senator after she was appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Senator Johnny Isakson, who resigned for health reasons. She ran in a 2020 special election to hold the seat but was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock. She was a staunch election denier, objecting to the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, but she later voted to certify the results after the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
A former business executive, Loeffler was among Trump’s top billionaire donors during his 2024 campaign, contributing more than $4.9 million to his reelection effort. Trump chose her to chair his upcoming inauguration, and is set to meet with her Friday at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to CNN.
Loeffler said earlier this week that she would welcome the appointment, saying on the Politically Georgia podcast that “I grew up on a farm and I’m still actively involved in agriculture. I’m a huge advocate for rural America, and most of my bills that I passed in Congress were rural healthcare funding & related bills.”
During her time in Congress, she was considered the wealthiest person in the legislative body, and had to fend off accusations of insider trading and dumping stocks after receiving early briefings about the potential of the Covid-19 pandemic. She’s married to a former chairman of The New York Stock Exchange, Jeffrey Sprecher, and the two have an estimated combined net worth of more than $1 billion.
Sprecher and Loeffler also have business ties to Trump. The president-elect’s social media venture, Trump Media & Technology, is reportedly buying cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt, Sprecher is now the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, which backs the crypto firm, and Loeffler is a former CEO of Bakkt. Loeffler’s appointment to a cabinet position is sure to raise questions about it being part of a business deal with Trump, but he’s never been concerned about mixing his finances with politics.
This story has been updated.
