Outgoing Rep. Tim Huelskamp says he’s being considered as Trump’s agriculture secretary

U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp says he has been approached by President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team about becoming secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The outspoken, outgoing Republican congressman told The Daily Caller on Wednesday that he has sent his resume to Trump’s team, which reached out to him this week. He told Agri-Pulse, an agricultural policy publication, that “many, many people” have spoken to him about the position.

“People who are in the room have been talking to me,” Huelskamp toldAgri-Pulse. “If you’re looking to be an outsider, I would be quite a pick to fit that.”

Huelskamp’s office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The congressman’s family has spent several generations in agriculture. Huelskamp holds a doctorate in agriculture policy from American University in Washington, D.C., where he graduated in 1995.

Huelskamp has represented the vast, rural 1st District of central and western Kansas since 2011. He lost a bitter Republican primary in August to Roger Marshall, who will succeed him in January.

The expensive and closely watched Huelskamp-Marshall contest often centered on agriculture policy. Huelskamp, a vocal critic of the Republican establishment, was removed from the House Agriculture Committee in 2012. That left him susceptible to Marshall’s accusations that the 1st District lacked representation on the House committee overseeing its largest industry.

Huelskamp’s departure from the House Agriculture Committee also cost him the support of Kansas’ largest farming and ranching groups, including the Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Livestock Association. When the Farm Bureau endorsed Marshall over Huelskamp in July, it was the first time in KFB’s history it supported a 1st District challenger over an incumbent.

Trump, like Huelskamp, has sparred vocally with Republican Party leaders. The brash businessman has promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington by keeping special interests out of the White House and appointing Cabinet members from outside the political establishment.

Huelskamp would seem to fit that mold. He chairs the Tea Party Caucus and is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a band of conservative congressmen that has pushed the Republican Party toward hardline, fiscally conservative positions.

Patrick Miller, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas, said Huelskamp’s personality and style fit Trump’s.

“He is from the Tea Party, where Trump’s support in the primaries originated, though he grew to have broad appeal among Republicans,” Miller said.

Eric Pahls, Marshall’s press secretary, said on Twitter that Huelskamp is “one swamp creature, (a) politician since college, that doesn’t want to be drained.”

Huelskamp supported Ted Cruz during the Republican primaries. In May, he said he doesn’t allow his 9-year-old son to listen to Trump on television, calling him “crass” and demeaning to women. Huelskamp, an ardent opponent of abortion, also questioned whether Trump is truly opposed to abortion.

There is precedent for a Kansas congressman losing a re-election fight and becoming U.S. agriculture secretary. In 1994, Democratic congressman Dan Glickman lost re-election to Republican Todd Tiahrt before being appointed agriculture secretary by President Bill Clinton. He served in that role from 1995 to 2001.

Reached by phone Thursday, Glickman said he would be surprised if Huelskamp is chosen due to his adversarial relationship with congressional leaders.

“You cannot have burned bridges. It’s a nonstarter,” he said. “They won’t even appoint you if you’ve burned bridges, in my opinion.”

Glickman is one of two Kansans to hold the top USDA post since its creation in the late 19th century. William Jardine, a former Kansas State University president, was appointed agriculture secretary by President Calvin Coolidge in 1925.

“You have to work with Congress,” Glickman said of the job. “Congress is probably more important for agriculture policy than other areas of policy.”

Glickman said he hopes to see a Kansan become the next agriculture secretary. Gov. Sam Brownback, also rumored to be in the running, has a more impressive résumé than Huelskamp, according to Glickman, and, as a former senator, would be granted deference during Senate confirmation hearings.

“I would hope that whoever they pick is not ideological and would understand the importance of both farm programs and nutrition programs,” Glickman said. “That is the bridge between rural and urban America.”

Trump’s transition from candidate to president-elect has been, by someaccounts, messy. As a result, Miller says, the Trump transition team may be measuring Huelskamp’s enthusiasm.

“It seems from media reports and statements from campaign officials that there were not necessarily lists of potential nominees, so a lot of people are being approached now to gauge interest,” he said.