BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- Outgoing U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said he leaves Washington, D.C., with a sense of accomplishment and no regrets -- and no plans to run for another office.
Schafer, who was North Dakota's Republican governor from 1992 to 2000, has long ignored the urging of fellow Republicans, including former President Bush, to seek a U.S. Senate seat.
"I don't have any interest in the legislative branch -- I'm just not a legislative branch type of guy," he said Wednesday. "I don't have any plans or visions of any elected office."
He said he was packing up and leaving Washington for a long road trip through the South with his wife, Nancy, before returning to their North Dakota home in a few weeks.
Bush nominated Schafer in October 2007 to replace former Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns, who left the agriculture post to run for the Senate. Schafer was confirmed last January during heated debate on the $290 billion farm bill.
Schafer said working on the massive bill, which eventually passed in May, was the highlight of his tenure as agriculture secretary.
"It was awesome -- I loved the job," he said. "You just don't get those opportunities to work with the president and be part of the governance of the United States."
Schafer said he's leaving the Agriculture Department in good order for former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, President Barack Obama's choice to oversee the country's food and farm programs. "We set up a good transition and implementation team and I'm pleased about that," Schafer said.
He also is proud of multimillion dollar federal loans for developing such alternative forms of fuel as cellulosic ethanol and for capturing carbon dioxide.
Last week, Schafer announced a $300 million federal loan for Basin Electric Power Cooperative of Bismarck to capture carbon dioxide at the company's coal-fired power plant in central North Dakota. He said it's the first commercial-scale carbon sequestration project at an existing coal-fired power plant.
Schafer said he and his wife have no long-term plans. "I'm not worried about keeping busy, but I don't know yet what I want to bite into," he said.
