Sam Clovis (file photo)

An Iowan who has been an advisor to Donald Trump during the presidential campaign is moving into a job in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sam Clovis of Hinton, Iowa was sworn in soon after Trump was sworn in so he can begin his duties. Clovis says they are setting up what they call a “beachhead team” to ensure they have a smooth transition between the administrations.

Clovis did not go into detail about his specific U.S.D.A. duties, but says the Trump administration will be marked by a very conservative agenda.

“I’ve been personally involved over the last several weeks of making sure the policy implementation that we are going to see from day one — starting this afternoon forward — I will say without qualification it is the most conservative agenda I have seen come from a Republican presidency in a long time,” Clovis says. “I may be more conservative than Ronald Reagen’s was.”

He does say that President Trump has assured him that biofuels will continue to be a major part of America’s energy plan.

“It is our distinct guidance that we keep to an all of the above energy plan,” Clovis says. He says he’s already talked with incoming Energy Secretary Rick Perry about the issue.

Clovis formerly supported the former Texas Governor when Perry ran against Trump early in the GOP presidential race. Thousands of protesters opposing Trump lined the streets of Washington today, with some clashing with police. Clovis says he has never seen protests to this level after an election but thinks he partly knows why so many have come to the capitol.

He says people are coming to get attention through social media and other media. “And this is why I think they are motivated to do it more than anything else, because it allows them to get the attention across the world,” Clovis says. Clovis added that he’s disappointed by the number of those who don’t want to reconcile with the fact that Trump is now president.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve every seen anything in our history like this where we’ve seen such adamant digging in on the part of the opposition over anything,” Clovis says. “Because I think a lot of has to do with the American people decided — and not the elites in Washington.”

Clovis is a veteran who has run for the U.S. Senate was also a former professor and talk show host on KSCJ Radio.

(Reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)