Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor and agriculture secretary under President Barack Obama, has been tapped to return to the role under Joe Biden, according to reports.
Vilsack served as Governor from 1999 to 2007 before serving in the cabinet as Agriculture Secretary for all of Obama’s presidency. The announcement could come as soon as this week, according to Axios. Biden has thus far built an administration rooted in former Obama officials.
He was a top rural and agriculture policy adviser to Biden’s presidential campaign and had emerged as the “preferred choice of Biden’s inner circle”, according to Politico.
In the weeks leading up to the selection, the names of two possible appointments rose to the fore as the most likely to be chosen.
Former North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who was considered for the role in 2016 by President Trump, was floated as a possibility. Activists were vocal about their opposition to a Heitkamp appointment, fearing she would be too friendly to big agribusiness.
The former senator has also gone against environmentalists on key issues like the Keystone XL Pipeline. She has been in favor of its development.
The favorite of liberal groups appeared to be Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, the chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations, a position which would have made her suited to focus on one of the programs the department oversees, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP.
She has also served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Members of the group told the Biden team that she was their pick, Politico reported.
But Fudge appears to have been tapped as Biden’s choice as Housing and Urban Development Secretary, according to reports Tuesday night, although she may not be thrilled about the appointment.
In an interview with Politico last month, Fudge said that black policymakers have been traditionally relegated to a handful of Cabinet position, including HUD secretary.
“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.’”
