The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry today moved the Trump Administration one step closer to a full cabinet by voting to favorably report nominee Sonny Perdue to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, which means he will now be considered by the full Senate for confirmation.

Committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) is pleased Perdue’s nomination is closer to the finish line. “Our farmers and ranchers have been waiting too long for this important position to be filled,” said Roberts. “We need to get Governor Perdue down to USDA to get to work.”

Governor Perdue has the bipartisan support of six past agriculture secretaries and more than 650 agriculture groups from across the nation.

There is no vote scheduled yet for the full senate. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was the only member of the committee to vote against Perdue, due to her concerns about how he might unfavorably impact food assistance programs at USDA.