News American politics
Biden wants old acquaintance as new agriculture minister
Tom Vilsack may become the new secretary of agriculture under President-elect Joe Biden. Vilsack is an old acquaintance and has already held that role for 2 terms under Obama. Vilsack is currently foreman of the US Dairy Export Council.
Although Vilsack has not yet been officially nominated by Biden as chief executive of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to sources around the formation, he is seen as the main candidate. Biden sees Vilsack as the ideal person to help rural Americans hit hard by the corona crisis.
A nomination from Vilsack would be highly unusual, American media write. It is rare for former ministers to rejoin government under a new president.
Much experience
Still, it's not surprising that Biden ends up at Vilsack. At 70, he is an accomplished politician who already knows the USDA inside out. During Biden's campaign, Vilsack was a consultant on agriculture and rural development. When appointing his government, Biden will fall back on old acquaintances anyway. For example, John Kerry, former Secretary of State, is very likely to become a special envoy for climate affairs.
Vilsack is known to be an advocate of small-scale farming. During his terms as agriculture minister, he set up various support programs for this. From the Biden's plans It turns out that he wants to support small-scale farming. Farmers' interest groups from that quarter are criticizing the possible nomination of Vilsack. In recent years, he was the forerunner of American dairy exports, which are mainly dominated by major players.
Wouter Job
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