Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, nearing the end of eight years at USDA, knows the type of person who would fit perfectly as his replacement at USDA. “If I were to offer advice [it would be] find a governor who cares about agriculture,” Vilsack told reporters.
A former two-term governor of Iowa, Vilsack said the broad portfolio of the Agriculture Department, stretching from rural economic development and national forests to farm subsidies and foreign trade, offered a panorama of topics for action. It’s similar to the range of issues that governors are accustomed to seeing as the chief executives of state government, he said.
Vilsack did not mention any names but was emphatic on one point: As the longest-serving member of President Obama’s cabinet, he is not looking for a continued stay as agriculture secretary. Two terms is enough in any job, he said.