Senate Ag Committee Advances Taylor, Esteban and Logan Nominations

On Tuesday, the Senate Ag Committee advanced the nomination of Alexis Taylor to be Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at USDA.

The Ag Committee also advanced the nominations of Dr. Jose Emilio Esteban to be Under Secretary for Food Safety at USDA as well as Vincent Logan to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration Board.

“Dr. Jose Esteban, Vincent Logan, and Alexis Taylor have spent their careers as dedicated public servants and are proven to be highly qualified for these critical roles. Each of these nominees has strong bipartisan support, and I am looking forward to moving them quickly through the Senate,” said Senator Stabenow.

Taylor, who currently serves as the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, was nominated by the Biden administration back in May. Talk on Capitol Hill is that the goal is to have final, full Senate confirmation for each nominee by the end of this week.

Numerous ag groups have come out in support of the nominations to the full Senate. You can view some of those responses below:

USMEF Statement on Advancement of Under Secretary for Trade Nomination

Today the Senate Agriculture Committee reported favorably on the nomination of Alexis Taylor to serve as USDA under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.

U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom issued this statement in support of the nomination:

USMEF thanks the Senate Agriculture Committee for advancing the nomination of Alexis Taylor, an outstanding nominee who has strong, bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. USMEF had many opportunities to work with Ms. Taylor in her previous roles at USDA and we are confident she will continue to be a strong and effective voice for U.S. agriculture. We fully support her prompt confirmation by the Senate.

AFIA Calls for Swift Senate Confirmation of Alexis Taylor ARLINGTON, Va. – Sept. 27, 2022 – The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) commends the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry for its bipartisan support today in voting to send the nomination of Alexis Taylor to be the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs to the full Senate body. Following the committee’s vote, AFIA’s President and CEO Constance Cullman issued the following statement:

“American agriculture, and especially the U.S. feed industry, has patiently waited for this incredibly important trade position to be filled and we are thrilled to see the advancement of Ms. Taylor’s nomination to the full Senate. Now, we call upon the Senate to swiftly confirm Taylor. While we have been waiting, our competitors have continued to enhance their trade and competitiveness by negotiating and completing new trade agreements.”

Demand for the United States’ high-quality animal nutrition products is strong and growing, with the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce showing that the industry’s exports grew 22% in value in 2021 compared to 2020.