Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) has reportedly been chosen to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Fudge and her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus have been pushing her as the next head of the Department of Agriculture. But as of Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden has chosen her for a different role, two people with knowledge of the decision tell Politico.
Politico's report comes after House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a chair of Biden's inaugural committee, said Tuesday that Fudge may not be USDA head, but that she "will be" in Biden's Cabinet. Clyburn had been "aggressively" lobbying for Fudge to have a Cabinet position, Politico writes.
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Fudge told Politico last month that Black people usually don't get to have top Cabinet positions. "As this country becomes more and more diverse, we're going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in,” she said. "You know, it's always 'we want to put the Black person in Labor or HUD.'"
Given that Fudge has a spot on the House's Agricultural Committee, she was reportedly angling to lead the USDA. But Biden is reportedly leaning toward bringing back Obama Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack instead.
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