Barack Obama's choice for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack begins his confirmation hearing next week
Former Iowa governor, and nominee for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack is scheduled to begin his Senate confirmation hearing next week, but at least one report says he may be tapped to take the now vacant nomination for U.S. Commerce Secretary.
It was announced today that the hearing for Vilsack will begin Wednesday, January 14th and Senate Agriculture Committee chair Tom Harkin predicts the confirmation will be a smooth one.
"Assuming everything goes according to plan, our intention is to get Governor Vilsack confirmed as secretary on Inauguration Day," Senate agriculture committee chief of staff Mark Halverson told the Des Moines Register.
When President-elect Barack Obama announced the nomination of Vilsack in December, it was met with praise from members of both sides of the aisle.
However, if a report from the New York Daily News is correct, Vilsack might be heading to a confirmation hearing for a Commerce Secretary after New Mexico governor Bill Richardson withdrew his name for the slot.
The Daily News says that according to an unnamed source, Vilsack is being considered as an option to fill the commerce slot and says he would be a "perfect choice" for Obama.
