The GOP-controlled Senate on Thursday confirmed three new undersecretaries for the USDA, including Richard Fordyce, who will oversee the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency, and Natural Resources Conservation Service at a time when the farm economy is struggling.
The trio were included in a package of 48 sub-Cabinet nominees approved en bloc by the Senate, 51-47, under Republicans’ new fast-track process for accelerating consideration of President Donald Trump’s nominations.
Fordyce was picked to be undersecretary for farm production and conservation. Dudley Hoskins will be undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs, and Scott Hutchins will serve as undersecretary for research, education, and economics.
All three men served at the USDA during the first Trump administration. Fordyce was administrator of the FSA. Hoskins was chief of staff for marketing and regulatory programs. Hutchins was deputy undersecretary for research, education, and economics.
The other nominees confirmed by the Senate included:
Jessica Kramer, assistant administrator of the Office of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency
Leslie Beyer, assistant interior secretary for land and minerals management
Andrea Travnicek, assistant interior secretary for water and science
William L. Doffermyre, solicitor for the Interior Department
Katherine Scarlett, member of the Council on Environmental Quality
