Thursday, November 2, 2017
On Wednesday, Sam Clovis sent a letter to Donald Trump to withdraw from consideration as Chief Scientist at the US Department of Agriculture. Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau, Food Security Campaigner at ActionAid USA, said:
“The withdrawal of Sam Clovis, Trump’s nominee to be chief scientist at the US Department of Agriculture, is good news for farmers, workers, the environment, and consumers. Clovis was forced to withdraw because of his connection to the Russia investigation – but he was also completely unqualified for this position, which oversees an over $3 billion research budget that affects every aspect of our food and farming system.
“This week Clovis officially admitted he has no qualifications in either science or agriculture. His stance as a climate denier should disqualify him from serving farmers who are facing the impacts of climate change every day. And on top of all this, Clovis has a long history of racism and misogyny that is deeply inappropriate for any public official.
“However, Clovis is still employed at the USDA as the Senior White House Advisor, and there is a real danger that Clovis will take on the work of the top scientist without Senate approval. It is critical that organizations and citizens pay attention to how this administration is treating its farmers, its workers, its food, and its land and water.”