Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Andy Holt to the position of commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

Andy Holt Photo: Randall Spradlin

Holt is the current deputy commissioner at the department, a role he was appointed to late last year , and he spent ten years as a state representative for House District 76 in West Tennessee.

The Republican has faced numerous encounters with the state and federal government regarding the operations of his now-closed hog farm, which included a lack of permits and alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the latter brought forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Details of inaccurate reporting of his campaign finances , unpaid speeding tickets and Holt’s denial of climate change impacts also marked his tenu

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