Tom Vilsack was sworn in Wednesday evening to lead USDA under the Biden administration, a post he held for eight years in the Obama administration.
The Senate approved the nomination 92-7 on Tuesday, with six Republicans voting against his nomination and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Sanders caucuses with the Democrats and is the first lawmaker from that side of the aisle to vote against a Biden administration nominee.
In explaining his vote, Sanders said he didn't have a major issue with Vilsack but thought that Biden “could have done better” with his choice of someone to lead USDA.
Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, opposed returning Vilsack to head USDA.
Now the attention will quickly shift to lower-level appointments at USDA that require Senate confirmation.