WASHINGTON, June 19, 2015 – House Agriculture Committee chair Mike Conaway, R-Texas, has announced Trent Kelly, R-Miss., the winner of a recent special election, as the newest member of the panel.
Kelly was sworn in June 9 after winning a June 2 special election runoff. He fills the seat vacated by the death of Alan Nunnelee, who passed away in February from brian cancer. He represents Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District, which includes all or part of 22 counties in northwest Mississippi along the Alabama and Tennessee borders.
“Agriculture is vital to the economy in the State of Mississippi, and I am proud to have the opportunity to represent the First District on the House Committee on Agriculture,” Congressman Kelly in a committee release. “I thank Chairman Conaway for this opportunity and I look forward to working with him and the members of the committee.”
Kelly will be the 45th overall member of the committee and the 26th Republican member. He fills the seat vacated by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who left the committee in May to join the Financial Services Committee. In a statement, Conaway said Kelly’s military and legal background will serve him well on the committee.
“With more than 37,000 farms in Mississippi covering 10.9 million acres, Trent will be a strong voice for agriculture in his home state,” Conaway said in a statement. “We have a very diverse team with unique backgrounds and districts, and I know Trent’s distinguished experience as a District Attorney and Mississippi Army National Guard Colonel will be a great asset to this committee.
Rep. Kelly will also serve on the Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee as well as the Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit Subcommittee as well as the House Small Business Committee.
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