Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/2/20

With 10 months remaining in Trump's first term, the Agriculture Department is still operating without a full suite of undersecretaries. Half of USDA's mission areas are spearheaded by deputy officials — including Bette Brand, the new deputy undersecretary for rural development appointed on Friday, your host reports.

Meanwhile, there's still no full undersecretary for rural development, more than a year since Congress reinstated the position in the 2018 farm bill (after Perdue tried to eliminate it). That means Brand will lead the branch of USDA overseeing rural infrastructure, housing assistance, broadband connectivity and other efforts.

She's not the only deputy in charge: The department has no undersecretaries for food safety; research, education and economics; and food, nutrition and consumer services. Each area is led by a deputy undersecretary. What's the difference? The deputy position doesn't require Senate sign-off, for one.

— Trump's nominees for two of those USDA posts were stuck in the slow-going Senate confirmation process since 2018. After months of inaction, Perdue sidestepped the chamber and named the nominees to deputy undersecretary roles in early 2019, noting that the department has been operating "without all of our players on the field."

— Senate inaction isn't the only hangup: The White House didn't get around to picking someone to lead the FNCS branch until December 2019, and there's still no nominee for rural development undersecretary.

About the new rural development chief: Brand was administrator of USDA's Rural Business Service since January 2018, and before that she worked for Farm Credit of the Virginias for 35 years. Perdue named her deputy undersecretary just a few months after swearing in her predecessor, Donald "DJ" LaVoy, in September.