Biden reportedly picks Tom Vilsack for another stint as agriculture secretary

President-elect Joe Biden has selected Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor and agriculture secretary for all eight years of the Obama administration, as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Politico and The Washington Post report. "One person familiar with Biden’s thinking said Vilsack’s previous experience running the department was instrumental in the decision because the president-elect wanted someone who could immediately tackle the hunger and farm crises that have been exacerbated by the pandemic," Politico reports.

Several Black leaders civil rights advocates had urged Biden to pick Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, to head the USDA, looking for a fresh direction, and former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) had also been under consideration. Biden chose Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development instead. The USDA "has been almost exclusively led by white men since the Civil War," Politico notes.

Vilsack, who currently leads the U.S. Dairy Export Council trade group, is expected to easily win confirmation, and Biden's plans to use the USDA as a tool against climate change "likely made the job more attractive for Vilsack to return," Politico reports. Agriculture groups have warmed to the idea of the federal government paying farmers to capture and store carbon dioxide in the soil.

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The next agriculture secretary will also have to decide whether to continue President Trump's welfare program for farmers hit by his trade wars — payments that hit $37 billion in 2020 — and grapple with rising demand for food aid during the COVID-19 economic downturn. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) makes up about half of the USDA's budget.