The Senate confirmed Stephen Vaden on Tuesday as deputy secretary of Agriculture, putting the veteran of the first Trump administration into the number two position at the Agriculture Department.
Democrats uniformly opposed Vaden’s confirmation in the Republican-led chamber, as they did during consideration by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee in May. The vote was 51-44.
A native of Tennessee, Vaden is a Yale-educated lawyer who prior to his nomination was a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade. President Donald Trump picked him for the judge’s position during his first administration, taking him from the USDA where he’d been general counsel.
Vaden has agricultural roots, having grown up working on his family’s farm, a background that’s gained him support from major farm organizations.
