US President-elect Donald Trump is moving closer to appointing his agriculture secretary, according to leaked information from Trump’s transition team on Monday.

Sources close to Trump told Reuters news agency that the Republican is leaning towards Sonny Perdue, a former Georgia Governor, after meeting with candidates to head up the US Department of Agriculture in December.   

Perdue is a Democrat-turned-Republican who owns a fertiliser and grain business. He was an advisor to Trump during his presidential campaign and served as governor of Georgia between 2003 and 2011, before which time he was a senator representing a rural region of the state.

Agriculture secretary is one of only two posts Trump has yet to fill before he takes over the White House from Barack Obama on 20th January.