• Pittsburgh native Tom Vilsack confirmed for second time as secretary of USDA,
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted 92-7 on Tuesday to confirm Tom Vilsack as Agriculture secretary, sending the former Iowa governor back to a department he ran for eight years under President Barack Obama.
Mr. Vilsack, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh and went to high school at Shady Side Academy, had been expected to have a smooth path to confirmation after the Senate Agriculture Committee voted unanimously earlier this month to advance his nomination. Many Republicans voted in favor of his confirmation Tuesday including Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Still, Mr. Vilsack had faced intense criticism from civil rights activists saying he did not go far enough to eradicate racial discrimination at the agency or support farmers of color during his first stint in the role.
He will head the agency at a time of rising food insecurity because of the pandemic. An estimated 50 million Americans are food insecure and food banks and pantries around the country are running low on food.
“His deep knowledge of agriculture and rural America is needed now more than ever,” Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said ahead of the vote. “The COVID19 crisis is continuing to disrupt our food supply chain. ... We have more than 50 million Americans today who are in a hunger crisis.”
She noted the threat of climate change and that farmers of color are experiencing economic disparities and said Mr. Vilsack would consider “new ideas in a new era at the department.”
Sen. John Boozman, RArk., the ranking member of Senate Agriculture, urged Republicans to vote to confirm him.
Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Marco Rubio, RFla., and Dan Sullivan, RAlaska, voted against confirmation.