Stephen Vaden, a judge on the Court of International Trade who served as general counsel for USDA during President-elect Donald Trump's first administration, has been selected to be the department’s deputy secretary.
As general counsel at USDA, Vaden “won two cases before the United States Supreme Court, relocated and reorganized the Agencies that comprise the Department to better serve Rural America, and engaged in substantial regulatory reform,” Trump said in a statement Sunday.
He oversaw implementation of the 2018 farm bill as well as rules around the legalization of industrial hemp and regulation of bioengineered crops.
Vaden lives in Union City, Tennessee, and helps manage the family farm, the statement said.
Vaden was confirmed by the Senate as general counsel in November 2018. He served as principal deputy in the general counsel’s office while waiting for confirmation.
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Vaden, who has a law degree from Yale University and a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University, served at two major Washington law firms, Jones Day and Patton Boggs, before joining USDA.
Trump earlier named Brooke Rollins, president of the America First Policy Institute and a former White House adviser, to be his agriculture secretary. Rollins has a law degree.
Xochitl Torres Small is currently serving as deputy secretary under Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
In a post on X Rollins welcomed Vaden’s selection. “Judge Vaden’s resume speaks for itself: Yale Law, former GC of USDA, and now a Judge on the Court of International Trade — a lifelong appointment he now gives up to serve as the next Deputy Secretary of USDA.
“But more important than any accomplishment on his extensive resume is his deep understanding that American greatness is a direct function of American agriculture — and, as Lincoln said, USDA is “The People’s Department” and ought to be run as such.”
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