President Donald Trump has appointed country music artist John Rich of Big and Rich as a special envoy for American landowners at the USDA. Rich said that he will serve as an advocate for farmers and ranchers with a focus on protecting private property rights.
“This rule came about because of a really serious fight I got into about this time last year with the Tennessee Valley Authority here in Tennessee, and they were putting in a Biden-era green new energy project that was going to tear up about 6000 acres of farmland, over 400 houses, a school district, and the main water supply of the county. So, I launched about a four- or five-month-long, very public fight against the TVA, and exposed what they were doing, and that led to the TVA abandoning this project.”
A $2 billion project was shut down after officials determined the location was unsuitable, drawing the attention of the current administration.
“That got the attention of Secretary Rollins at USDA, and it got the attention of President Trump. Well, they reached out to me, the president did, and he said, ‘Hey, these situations are happening all across the United States, and what you just did with the TVA needs to be done in places, more than I can count. Would you want to do that if you were working directly for me and had access to all of my cabinet members and could actually put up a real fight?’ And I said, yes, sir. I would love the opportunity.”