The Senate confirmed Luke Lindberg on Saturday night to be the Agriculture Department’s undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs.
Lindberg, who served as chief of staff of the Export-Import Bank during the first Trump administration, has been a senior fellow with the Trump-aligned America Fist Policy Institute co-founded by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and is president and CEO of South Dakota Trade, which assists businesses in that state with trade issues.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is Lindberg’s father-in-law.
Lindberg's nomination wasn't controversial but the confirmation process has slowed to a crawl this year as Democrats exercise some of their limited political leverage.
The Senate voted 75-20 to invoke cloture on Lindberg's nomination and then voted 77-18 to confirm him.
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here
Lindberg “will be a tireless advocate for restoring American agriculture’s global competitiveness and delivering results for producers across the country,” Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., said in a statement after the vote.
Lindberg told the committee at his confirmation hearing in April that his top priority would be eliminating the U.S. agricultural trade deficit, now projected to be $49.5 billion for fiscal 2025.
Lindberg said that, if confirmed, he would immediately invite “all of the different commodity groups from around the country to come in and have conversations with us.”
Lindberg is the fourth of President Donald Trump’s nominees to USDA to get confirmed, following Rollins, Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Vaden and General Counsel Tyler Clarkson.
"We are thrilled to have Luke join our team and I have full faith that his drive and deep experience will ensure we not only defend our producers, but also open new doors to global trade," Rollins said in a statement.
For more news go to Agri-Pulse.com.
