Biden to tap Vilsack for Agriculture secretary: reports

President-elect Joe Biden will reportedly tap Tom Vilsack to reprise his former role as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), choosing to nominate a key ally to another Cabinet post.

Several outlets reported Vilsack’s nomination, which came shortly after it was reported that Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) would be nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Fudge and her allies had been angling for her to be Agriculture secretary. Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) was also reportedly in contention for the job.

People close to the Biden transition told The Associated Press that Vilsack is being nominated to lead the USDA again because of his readiness to helm the department and the dire hunger crisis facing the nation, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Vilsack, a former two-term governor of Iowa, served atop the USDA for all eight years of the Obama administration. He was a prominent supporter of Biden during the Democratic presidential primary race and notably stuck by the former vice president after his abysmal fourth-place showing in the crucial Iowa caucuses.

Beyond responding to the coronavirus pandemic, the USDA will also likely focus on bolstering the economy and health infrastructure in rural areas as well as improving rural broadband.

“With a heightened hunger crisis, farmers reeling, and rural communities struggling to weather the pain and economic fallout of the pandemic, the President-Elect is looking for someone with experience and bold thinking to deliver immediate relief for families all across the country. No one fits that description better than Tom Vilsack since he knows the department better than anyone,” said a source familiar with the president-elect’s thinking.

The Biden transition declined to respond to a request for comment from The Hill. Axios was the first to report on Vilsack’s upcoming nomination.