Harkin: Vilsack tapped for agriculture secretary

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is expected to be named President-elect Barack Obama’s designee to be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on Wednesday, Democratic officials said today.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said he expected Vilsack to be named USDA chief and for his Senate confirmation to go smoothly.

Yepsen: Vilsack pick is a clear thank you to Iowa, though it's not as clear what the former governor brings to the job

“All the signs point to the fact that this will be happening in the next few hours and that Barack Obama will indeed recommend Tom Vilsack to be the next secretary of agriculture,” said Harkin. The Iowa Democrat is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and lobbied for Vilsack to be agriculture secretary.

“I think it will be a very smooth hearing and, as chairman, I can assure you it will be smooth,” Harkin said. He said he expects hearings to begin in his committee in early January.

Obama is expected to make the announcement at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday in Chicago, where he is expected to be joined by Vilsack.

Vilsack would be the first Iowa Democrat to serve as a Cabinet secretary since Henry A. Wallace held the same position during President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration.

It would also mark the first time the agriculture secretary and Senate Agriculture Committee chairman were both Iowans, creating a unique confluence of Iowa authority over agriculture and food policy.

Vilsack had been mentioned as a consideration for agriculture secretary until last month, when the former Iowa governor said he had not been contacted about the job.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a workforce of more than 105,000 and a budget of more than $95 billion. As governor, Vilsack managed a state workforce of roughly 20,000 and a budget of more than $5 billion.

The department has far-reaching oversight over policies concerning farming and agriculture, food production and safety, trade, natural resources and conservation. It includes the U.S. Forest Service and the Food Stamp Program.

Vilsack could not immediately be reached to confirm the announcement.

As governor, Vilsack had been a proponent of renewable energy and worked to develop industry related to the state’s ethanol and wind-generated electricity production. Iowa is nation’s leading producer of ethanol and among the leaders in wind-generated electricity.

Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Mike Tramontina said Vilsack, as agriculture secretary, would benefit Iowa in multiple ways.

Tramontina, a Democrat and Vilsack supporter, said the department is the primary source of federal dollars to the state. Its impact on commodities and trade, renewable energy, water quality, and more immediately, flood control, would be magnified with Vilsack at the helm, he said.

“We’ll have someone there who understands Iowa’s animal agriculture, a person who understands Iowa’s topography, its rivers and streams and its small towns,” Tramontina said. “To have someone like Tom Vilsack, who understands Iowa the way he does, is going to be a tremendous benefit to us.”

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, a Republican, had kind words for Vilsack. “It’s nice to have an Iowan in this job,” Northey said. “He understands what’s going on in agriculture. He’s a quick study and I think Iowans will have good access in the USDA.”

The news adds the name of yet another onetime rival of Obama to the Democratic president-elect’s prospective Cabinet.

Vilsack, 58, briefly sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination but withdrew from the race after roughly three months. He also campaigned aggressively for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign until Obama clinched the nomination in June.

Vilsack would join former rivals Joe Biden, who is vice president-elect, as well as Clinton, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Clinton has been tapped to be secretary of state and Richardson, secretary of commerce.

“I think the way Obama is going to govern is by using and leveraging and resources at his fingertips,” said JoDee Winterhof, a longtime Iowa and national Democratic campaign organizer who was a top Iowa aide to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. “Shown by whom he has reached out to, there is a true commitment on his part to move this country forward with the help of their leadership and talents.”

Last week, Harkin complained that he had not been contacted by Obama’s transition team to discuss the president-elect’s choice for agriculture secretary. The Senate will vote on the nomination.

Harkin was later contacted by a high-ranking member of the transition team and said he was satisfied that the team was making an effort to consult with the Senate.

“I think all of the things that I feel so strongly about, like conservation, renewable energy, rural development, helping beginning farmers, all point to Tom Vilsack tracking very well with all of them,” Harkin said. “And I’ve had a lot of discussions with Barack Obama about these things and how much he supports them.”

Vilsack is the second Iowan to be named to a senior position in the Obama White House.

Jackie Norris of Des Moines, a key Iowa campaign aide to Obama, was named chief of staff to incoming first lady Michelle Obama.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle, a Republican, is the most recent Iowan to serve in the president’s Cabinet. He has served as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget since last year.

— Reporter Dan Piller contributed to this article