{"id":165082,"date":"2021-02-23T16:18:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T21:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=165082"},"modified":"2021-02-23T16:45:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T21:45:03","slug":"obamas-longest-serving-cabinet-member-confirmed-to-bidens-cabinet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-longest-serving-cabinet-member-confirmed-to-bidens-cabinet\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama\u2019s Longest-Serving Cabinet Member Confirmed To Biden\u2019s Cabinet"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobamas-longest-serving-cabinet-member-confirmed-to-bidens-cabinet%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=165082&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Senate has voted 92-7 to approve Tom Vilsack as President Joe Biden&#8217;s Agriculture secretary, the eighth confirmed Cabinet member of the new administration.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, Secretary Vilsack is officially confirmed,&#8221; Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. &#8220;I look forward to partnering with him to address the COVID-19 pandemic for our farmers, feed families in need, curb the climate crises, and address racial discrimination in agriculture.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">After an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, Secretary Vilsack is officially confirmed! I look forward to partnering with him to address the COVID-19 pandemic for our farmers, feed families in need, curb the climate crisis, and address racial discrimination in agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenStabenow\/status\/1364313022777487363?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Vilsack, 70, returns to the same position he held during the Obama administration, a role he filled for eight years as the former president\u2019s longest-serving Cabinet member. He had previously gained extensive knowledge of the agriculture industry as a two-term governor of Iowa from 1999-2007.<\/p>\n<p>The longtime Biden supporter takes over a USDA with 29 agencies and almost 100,000 employees. The department supports farmers and ranchers, funds food-aid services like school meals, and develops federal policy on natural resources, food safety, rural development, nutrition, and works to end hunger.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, voted against Vilsack&#8217;s confirmation, reportedly saying: &#8220;I like Tom, and I&#8217;ve known him for years. But I think we need somebody a little bit more vigorous in terms of protecting family farms and taking on corporate agriculture.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bernie Sanders explains his &quot;no&quot; vote on Tom Vilsack, per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seungminkim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@seungminkim<\/a>: &quot;I like Tom, and I&#039;ve known him for years. But I think we need somebody a little bit more vigorous in terms of protecting family farms and taking on corporate agriculture.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Grace_Segers\/status\/1364314565576638472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Republican Senators Ted Cruz (Texas), Josh Hawley (MO), Rand Paul (KY), Marco Rubio (FL), Dan Sullivan (AK), and Rick Scott (FL) also voted against Vilsack.<\/p>\n<p>Several progressive groups, black farmers, and environmental leaders opposed Vilsack\u2019s nomination, questioning whether his approval would result in a continuation of his performance during the Obama presidency.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not lost on me, ironically, that this is Groundhog Day, and I realize that I&#8217;m back again,&#8221; Vilsack <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/agriculture-secretary-tom-vilsack-confirmation-hearing-02-02-2021\/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=110544141\">joked<\/a> at his confirmation hearing earlier this month, referencing a 1993 comedy film starring Bill Murray as a man trapped in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over.<\/p>\n<p>Some of Vilsack\u2019s critics <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/biden-transition-updates\/2020\/12\/09\/944434278\/biden-plans-to-bring-vilsack-back-to-usda-despite-criticism-from-reformers\">say<\/a> he has been beholden to corporate agriculture giants throughout his political career. Others accuse him of failing to address systemic racism within the department when he had the chance. They point out that weeks after Vilsack vacated his Cabinet position in January 2017, he started a job at a Big Dairy non-profit, where he has worked ever since.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Four more years of Tom Vilsack means more corporate-friendly policies that drain rural wealth and increase food insecurity. It will be a seamless transition from Trump\u2019s USDA Sec to Vilsack: he will continue business as usual &#8211; working on behalf of Big Ag.<\/p>\n<p>We must <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RejectVilsack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RejectVilsack<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UN49gHx1vh\">pic.twitter.com\/UN49gHx1vh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; RootsAction (@Roots_Action) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Roots_Action\/status\/1353811521764093954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 25, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), Vilsack became the highest-paid executive of its parent company, Dairy Management Inc, in his first full year of employment. He was paid almost $1 million in 2018, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/special-reports\/dairy-crisis\/2019\/12\/02\/former-secretary-agriculture-tom-vilsack-top-paid-dairy-management-exec\/4265818002\/\">investigation<\/a> by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found.<\/p>\n<p>USDEC, a Dairy Management subsidiary, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usdec.org\/about-us\/our-farmer-funders\">primarily funded<\/a> by dairy farmers that are mandated to pay into a federal checkoff program, which Vilsack will once again oversee during his second run as agriculture secretary. Congress requires dairy farmers to support a \u201cdairy checkoff\u201d fund used to promote and market the dairy industry. The Journal Sentinel report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/special-reports\/dairy-crisis\/2019\/12\/02\/former-secretary-agriculture-tom-vilsack-top-paid-dairy-management-exec\/4265818002\/\">found<\/a> Dairy Management received more than $150 million from the checkoff program in both 2017 and 2018.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usdec.org\/about-us\">According<\/a> to its website, USDEC is an &#8220;independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, propriety processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPulling Tom Vilsack directly from the dairy lobby to the agency meant to regulate that industry would be disastrous for the climate,\u201d Jennifer Molidor, senior food campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sierraclub.org\/sierra\/tom-vilsack-for-agriculture-secretary-worries-environmentalists#.YCChRxPo7VI.twitter\">told<\/a> Sierra, the national magazine of the Sierra Club. \u201cThe U.S. needs a secure, just, and climate-friendly food system, not an agency chief who will continue business-as-usual while the climate crisis grows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the Washington Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2021\/02\/02\/vilsack-usda-confirmation-hearing\/\">reported<\/a> that Vilsack\u2019s confirmation hearing \u201cwas hardly a recapitulation of discussions from a decade ago.\u201d According to The Post, it had been \u201cfull of references to climate change, greenhouse gas mitigation and carbon credit programs, and lessons learned from the pandemic about the vulnerabilities of our food system.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">WATCH: Secretary of Agriculture Nominee Tom Vilsack opening statement at his <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenateAgDems?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SenateAgDems<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenateAgGOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SenateAgGOP<\/a> confirmation hearing. <\/p>\n<p>Full video here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jiBnxE06eA\">https:\/\/t.co\/jiBnxE06eA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uZ6UX4dO0y\">pic.twitter.com\/uZ6UX4dO0y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cspan\/status\/1356639586433310724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 2, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>During the hearing, in which Vilsack appeared virtually, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.post-gazette.com\/news\/politics-nation\/2021\/02\/02\/Pittsburgh-native-Tom-Vilsack-Agriculture-Department-secretary-Farming-Climate-Change-economy-covid-19\/stories\/202102020040?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1612288584\">acknowledged<\/a> \u201cthat this is a fundamentally different time,\u201d adding, \u201cI am a different person, and it is a different department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Agriculture is one of our first and best ways to get some wins in this climate area,&#8221; he continued.<\/p>\n<p>Vilsack said he wants to use funds from the USDA\u2019s Commodity Credit Corporation, a program that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-biden-usda-vilsack\/usda-can-steer-farm-aid-money-to-fight-climate-change-biden-ag-secretary-nominee-says-idUSKBN2A22O8\">reportedly<\/a> receives up to $30 billion in annual funding, to fight climate change.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/agriculture-secretary-tom-vilsack-confirmation-hearing-02-02-2021\/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=110544141\">According<\/a> to CBS News, Vilsack pledged to \u201cspur the industry\u201d on biofuels, proposed \u201cbuilding a rural economy based on biomanufacturing\u201d and \u201cturning agricultural waste into a variety of products.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vilsack also mentioned establishing an \u201cequity task force\u201d to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/02\/04\/black-farmers-vilsack-civil-rights-465889\">review<\/a> USDA programs \u201cand identify if there\u2019s systemic racism\u2026and intentional and unintentional barriers.\u201d The idea aligns with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2021\/01\/20\/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government\/\">executive order<\/a> President Biden signed on his first day in office to use the federal government to advance racial equity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to fully, deeply and completely address the longstanding inequities, unfairness and discrimination that has been the history of USDA programs for far too long,\u201d Vilsack <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/02\/04\/black-farmers-vilsack-civil-rights-465889\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Associated Press <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/wireStory\/black-farmers-unconvinced-vilsacks-root-racism-vow-75780129\">reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>Some Black farmers fault Vilsack for failing to adequately address a backlog of discrimination complaints that predated his arrival at the department in 2009, and they say he should have hired more minorities to high-level positions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>There&#8217;s also lingering bitterness about Vilsack&#8217;s treatment of Shirley Sherrod, a Black woman who served as USDA&#8217;s Georgia director of rural development. Vilsack fired her in 2010 after a conservative blogger posted an edited video of her supposedly making racist remarks, but he asked her to return when the full video surfaced showing that she was taken out of context. Sherrod declined the offer to come back.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe have already seen what Vilsack is going to do. We don\u2019t have a prayer if he gets in there,\u201d said Rod Bradshaw, a 67-year-old Black farmer who raises wheat, cattle and milo on 2,000 acres near Jetmore, Kansas.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Some Black farmers want Biden to sign an executive order they drafted halting foreclosures on Black-owned farms and making other civil rights reforms.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the correct vote. Vilsack failed farmers, farmworkers, the land, and the public, and Shirley Sherrod. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cWQqNBg2aH\">https:\/\/t.co\/cWQqNBg2aH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZephyrTeachout\/status\/1364313747284705284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>One black farmer told the AP that Vilsack \u201cgot a pass\u201d during the Obama administration.<\/p>\n<p>After Vilsack\u2019s confirmation hearing, newly-elected Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/02\/04\/black-farmers-vilsack-civil-rights-465889\">appointed<\/a> to the Senate Agriculture Committee. They are the second and third African-Americans to serve on that panel in its history.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m thinking about farmers like Ricky Dollison, whose family has been feeding Georgians for generations. That\u2019s why I introduced legislation to provide direct payments to farmers of color and address systemic racism at the U.S. Agriculture Department. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0miYSsxEoJ\">pic.twitter.com\/0miYSsxEoJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReverendWarnock\/status\/1360238622503555072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 12, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Both lawmakers recently introduced bills they say are aimed at addressing institutional racism within the USDA. Warnock\u2019s proposal would <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReverendWarnock\/status\/1360238622503555072\">provide<\/a> direct payments to farmers of color. Meanwhile, Booker reintroduced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.booker.senate.gov\/news\/press\/booker-warren-gillibrand-smith-warnock-and-leahy-announce-comprehensive-bill-to-address-the-history-of-discrimination-in-federal-agricultural-policy\">legislation<\/a> intended to correct alleged historical discrimination the USDA has exhibited toward generations of black farmers.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate has voted 92-7 to approve Tom Vilsack as President Joe Biden\u2019s Agriculture secretary, the eighth confirmed Cabinet member of the new administration. \u201cAfter an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, Secretary &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274063,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}