Johnny Isakson: “first of all, I have a rare opportunity to follow Jon Tester, who is a great farmer from Montana, a great ranking member…”

“first of all, I have a rare opportunity to follow Jon Tester, who is a great farmer from Montana, a great ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and a man who knows agriculture well. I grew up picking up pecans off the ground on my grandfather's farm. I know a little about it. I know the salt-of-the-earth people who grow our food and our fiber who make our country work. I doubt if many people have had the opportunity to be a U.S. Senator, but I know this; that very few have had the opportunity to be a U.S. Senator and serve with the cousin of an ag commissioner, because the Presiding Officer who is presiding over this vote is the cousin of Sonny Perdue, the man we are going to confirm as Secretary of Agriculture under Donald Trump's administration. I am pleased to be the senior Senator from Georgia to brag about all of the Perdues whom I know in my State and all they have contributed to our State and how important Sonny Perdue is going to be to us as the Secretary of Agriculture. If one looked in Webster's Dictionary--and if it were a picture dictionary and every word were described not by words but by a picture--if one looked up ``Ag Secretary,'' you would see Sonny Perdue's picture. Think about this for a second. He grew up on a row crop farm in Bonaire, GA, which is an ag community in our State. He was in the fertilizer business and the grain business.…”