As with other government agencies, a series of officials have been put into temporary roles at USDA while the Biden administration assembles its team. Kevin Shea is serving as acting Agriculture secretary while Tom Vilsack awaits Senate confirmation.
Shea has been the administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service since 2013. Robert Bonnie, an advocate for creating an ag carbon bank at USDA, was named deputy chief of staff for policy and senior adviser for climate. He is a former USDA undersecretary for natural resources. Katharine Ferguson is USDA's new chief of staff. She held senior posts in the Obama administration.
Matt Herrick is the communications director for USDA, having left the International Dairy Foods Association. Herrick previously served as a spokesman for USDA and then for the U.S. Agency for International Development during the Obama administration.
Justo Robles, a Biden campaign official, will be the White House liaison. Robles was the campaign's deputy coalitions director in Georgia. Sara Bleich, a professor at Harvard's Chan School of Public Health, was named senior adviser to Vilsack for COVID-19.
Kumar Chandran, a former chief of staff to the department's undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services in the Obama administration, was named senior adviser to Vilsack on nutrition.