On a voice vote, the Senate confirmed Gregg Doud as the chief agricultural negotiator at the U.S. trade representative’s office. Action on the nomination had been delayed for months by a dispute over U.S. objectives in NAFTA negotiations.
President Trump selected Doud for the post last June. Doud, who was president of the Commodity Markets Council, a trade association, for the four years leading up to his nomination, was widely backed by the farm and agribusiness sector. He was a staff worker on the Senate Agriculture Committee before moving to the trade group in 2013, and was an economist at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association from 2003 to 2011.
“Our hard-working farmers, ranchers, end-users, and folks in rural America have waited too long to be represented at the trade negotiating table,” Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts said of the confirmation. Doud was the second Trump nominee confirmed by the Senate to an agriculture-related post this week. Previously, the Senate confirmed Bill Northey as the No. 3 official at the USDA.