The Senate confirmed Tom Vilsack to serve as President Biden’s Secretary of Agriculture on Tuesday afternoon. Vilsack, the president’s ninth cabinet member to be confirmed, received bipartisan support with a vote of 92-7.
U.S. Senate CONFIRMS Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture, 92-7. pic.twitter.com/tLX397cbJJ
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 23, 2021
Confirmed, 92-7: Executive Calendar #7 Thomas J. Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture @USDA
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) February 23, 2021
Vilsack previously served as Governor of Iowa and as President Obama’s Agriculture Secretary. Opposition to his confirmation was also bipartisan, with no votes from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Rand Paul (R-KY).
92-7: Senate confirms former Obama Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lead the USDA for a second time, now for the Biden Administration. Sanders (I) and 6 Republicans Cruz, Hawley, Paul, Rubio, Scott-FL and Sullivan voted No. pic.twitter.com/kbJHYBdmJh
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 23, 2021
Other nominees selected by President Biden have not enjoyed an easy confirmation process. The president’s nominees to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Neera Tanden, and the Department of Interior, Deb Haaland, are facing bipartisan opposition to their confirmations. Senate Republicans are also giving Biden’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Xavier Becerra, an uphill confirmation process.
