April 24 (UPI) -- Former Georgia Gov. George E. "Sonny" Perdue breezed to confirmation Monday as President Donald Trump's agriculture secretary.
Perdue faced few obstacles in the Senate, winning approval by a vote of 87-11 Monday.
"I'm pleased to vote for Agriculture Secretary nominee Sonny Perdue," Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who's running for re-election in a state Trump surprisingly carried in November, said. "I look forward to working together to strengthen Wisconsin's agricultural economy and our rural communities."
Perdue is taking over a department that faces a 21 percent funding cut proposed by Trump in his budget blueprint last month -- the third-largest proposed cut to any federal agency. Trump also proposed cuts to the State Department and Environmental Protection Agency.
"As a member of the administration, I view this budget similar to what [I did] as governor," Perdue said at his confirmation hearing last month. "I didn't like it ... but we managed to it."
Perdue, 70, served as Georgia governor between 2003 and 2011 and was a state senator for 11 years before that.
