Finally, Dr. Mindy Brashears will get her day in front of the Senate Ag Committee for her hearing on November 28, more than six months after she was nominated by President Trump.

Of course there could be endless delays before the committee actually votes, and, assuming the vote will be her approval for the Undersecretary for Food Safety position at the USDA, there could still be weeks and weeks of positioning before her name is brought to the Senate body as a whole.

If she received full support from the Senate (or even 51-49 support which is much more likely) in just six weeks, which might be a modern day record, that would still leave her just two short years as the Undersecretary for Food Safety if President Trump is not re-elected.

There are four possible scenarios here:

Trump is re-elected and Brashears has six years to learn who the players in food safety are and gain their trust support along with that of Congress. (I am assuming she already has the trust and support of industry because of her past activities.)
Trump is defeated by another Republican and that person agrees to keep her on board.
Trump is defeated by another Republican who wants to bring on his or her own team and Dr. Brashears goes back to Texas Tech with a nice plaque to hang on her wall.
A Democrat unseats Trump and there is no way in heck he or she will keep any of Trump’s appointees, might not even get a plaque.

Two years is simply not long enough to get much of anything in the way of significant change accomplished in the political vortex that is D.C. One of the first questions asked at the hearing will likely address this issue:

Why come for such a short time?

I think I know the answer, but will wait until my friend can answer for herself if she so desires.

This is the top food safety position in the U.S. government, and it has been treated like a joke. I am pretty certain Dr. Brashears can rise above that and become a vocal, physical presence for food safety and protecting the public’s health. I just do not know if she has enough time to make much of a difference, and a difference is badly needed at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

By the way, before I end, I just have to say I loved and agreed with everything Lisa Keefe recently penned in “Quack, Quack, It’s a Duck”.

And I am not saying that to flatter the editor, because I am on my last five months in a ten-year experience at Meatingplace. I started April Fool’s Day, 2009, and will ironically end on the same day 2019.

So if you have requests or ideas for topics in these waning months, please let me know.

FINALLY

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