CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump is expected to offer Kelly Loeffler the job of secretary of the Department of Agriculture, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.
He is set to meet with her at Mar-a-Lago Friday afternoon, but as is always the case, nothing is final until Trump announces it.
Loeffler, who briefly represented Georgia in the Senate, had fundraised for Trump during the 2024 race and raised several million dollars for his campaign over the summer when she hosted a debate watch party with Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley. Several of Trump’s other Cabinet picks — including Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Elise Stefanik — were at that party.
Loeffler is also co-chairing Trump’s inauguration, as CNN previously reported.
The agriculture job will likely be a significant one — especially as Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has promised to assert his influence over the agriculture industry.
Loeffler, appointed to the Senate by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over the wishes of Trump, lost her seat in a 2021 runoff to Democratic now-Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Loeffler was a staunch Trump ally in Congress, saying prior to the violence on January 6, 2021, that she planned to vote against certifying her state’s electoral results in support of Trump’s broader effort to upend Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
After the US Capitol attack, Loeffler backed off her objection, saying on the Senate floor: “When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to object to the certification of the electoral votes. However, the events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors.”
In the same speech, Loeffler condemned the violence at the Capitol, calling it “abhorrent.”
Loeffler was among the witnesses who appeared before the grand jury as part of Trump’s 2020 election subversion criminal case in Georgia.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
