Susan Combs, a former Texas comptroller and agriculture commissioner, will be named acting assistant secretary of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday evening. 

The news comes eight months after President Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Combs to serve as an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Combs was voted favorably out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources but has yet to receive a vote from the full body.

The assistant secretary post also requires U.S. Senate confirmation, but under certain circumstances, such positions can be filled temporarily without Senate confirmation.

Combs, who has also served as agriculture commissioner and a state representative, was once considered a candidate to be Trump’s agriculture secretary. She met with his transition team multiple times, but the job ultimately went to former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. 

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Emma Platoff was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering the law and its intersection with politics. A graduate of Yale University, Emma is the former managing editor of the...