Trump expected to pick loyalist ex-senator and crypto firm CEO for Cabinet role: report

President Elect-Donald Trump is reportedly expected to offer a businesswoman and former U.S. Senator from Georgia the job of Agriculture secretary, CNN reported Friday.

Trump was expected to meet with Kelly Loeffler at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon, according to the report.

Loeffler is a Trump loyalist — even boasting of a "100 percent Trump voting record" — who served as a senator for about a year beginning in January 2020 upon being appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp. She filled the seat left vacant by Sen. Johnny Isakson, who resigned.

Loeffler was reportedly in “advanced talks” about selling her company, a subsidiary of commodity and financial service provider Intercontinental Exchange, to Donald Trump's Truth Social. A few days later, she was reportedly teased for the agriculture role, CNN reported.

Loeffler was CEO of the cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt, according to the Financial Times. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is now overseeing the company. The Times broke the news of the possible sale on Monday.

News of the possible deal caused shares of Trump Media — which is majority-owned by Trump — to shoot up by double digits minutes after the Financial Times report was published, CNBC reported.

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As a result of the deal, Trump Media, "the company, which operates the Truth Social app and trades on the Nasdaq as DJT, closed more than 16% higher," according to that report.

Loeffler is also serving as a co-chair for Trump’s inauguration team.

This position will be significant, as reports on Friday revealed that Congress is likely to "punt" on the latest reauthorization of the farm bill. The 2018 farm bill expired on September 30, 2023.

WOSU reported on Friday that the delay in reauthorizing the farm bill is causing problems for Ohio farmers.

Read the full report on Loeffler's sale to Trump Media here.