President-elect Donald Trump is set to nominate businesswoman and former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler to serve as the secretary of the Department of Agriculture, according to CNN.
The billionaire conservative donor is currently serving as the co-chair of Trump’s inauguration planning committee.
The appointment comes as Trump’s technology company is reportedly in talks to acquire crypto group Bakkt, formerly headed by Loeffler and founded by her husband Jeffrey Sprecher‘s company Intercontinental Exchange. Loeffler served as CEO of Bakkt from 2018 until December 2019, when she was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Senate by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Trump Media and Technology Group’s interest in the group sent shares of Bakkt soaring earlier this week.
Loeffler drew criticism early in her Senate term for selling off stock in retail firms following a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic. The $20 million deal raised concerns over insider trading. She lost her seat in early 2021 to Democrat Raphael Warnock.
Loeffler’s appointment drew another round of online criticism of alleged self-serving business transactions.
“So basically Loeffler (former CEO of crypto company BAKKT) and her husband Sprecher (current CEO of intercontinental exchange, which majority owns BAKKT) are selling BAKKT to Trump’s Truth Social in exchange for a cabinet position, cool cool cool,” economic analyst Joey Politano wrote in a post to social media.
so basically Loeffler (former CEO of crypto company BAKKT) and her husband Sprecher (current CEO of intercontinental exchange, which majority owns BAKKT) are selling BAKKT to Trump’s Truth Social in exchange for a cabinet position, cool cool cool
— Joey Politano🏳️🌈 (@josephpolitano.bsky.social) November 22, 2024 at 2:17 PM
If confirmed, Loeffler will be among the richest members of Trump’s administration, joining billionaires Doug Burgum, Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk.
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