48 Facts About Tom Vilsack

Thomas James Vilsack is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Biden administration.

Tom Vilsack previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration.

Tom Vilsack's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on January 20,2009.

On July 19,2016, The Washington Post reported that Tom Vilsack was on Hillary Clinton's two-person shortlist to be her running mate for that year's presidential election.

Tom Vilsack was born on December 13,1950 in a Roman Catholic orphanage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his 23-year-old birth mother had lived since September 1950 under the pseudonym of "Gloria"; he was baptized as "Kenneth".

Tom Vilsack was adopted in 1951 by Bud, a real-estate agent and insurance salesman, and Dolly Vilsack.

Tom Vilsack attended Shady Side Academy, a preparatory high school in Pittsburgh.

Tom Vilsack received a bachelor's degree in 1972 from Hamilton College.

Tom Vilsack received a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in 1975.

In Mount Pleasant, Tom Vilsack raised funds to rebuild an athletic facility for young people; in a 2016 interview, he describes himself "as the Jerry Lewis of Mount Pleasant for a couple days" when he hosted a pledge drive on the local radio station to raise the funds.

The deceased mayor's father asked Tom Vilsack to run for mayor of Mount Pleasant; he was elected and began serving in 1987.

Tom Vilsack was elected to the Iowa Senate in 1992.

Tom Vilsack helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs and helped redesign Iowa's Workforce Development Department.

Tom Vilsack defeated former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick in the Democratic primary and chose Sally Pederson as his running mate.

However, Tom Vilsack narrowly won the general election and became the first Democrat to serve as governor of Iowa in thirty years and only the fifth Democrat to hold the office in the 20th century.

Tom Vilsack vetoed portions of the bill that would have cut income taxes and eased business regulations.

In July 2005, Tom Vilsack signed an executive order allowing all felons who had served their sentences to vote.

Tom Vilsack is a former member of the National Governors Association Executive Committee.

Tom Vilsack was chair of the Democratic Governors Association in 2004.

Tom Vilsack was chair of the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, the Governors Ethanol Coalition, and the Midwest Governors Conference, and has been chair and vice-chair of the National Governors Association's committee on Natural Resources, where he worked to develop the NGA's farm and energy policies.

Tom Vilsack was thought to be high on the list of potential running mates for Kerry in the 2004 presidential election.

In 2005, Tom Vilsack established Heartland PAC, a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic governors.

Tom Vilsack left office in 2007; he did not seek a third term and was succeeded by Chet Culver.

On November 30,2006, Tom Vilsack became the second Democrat to officially announce intentions to run for the presidency in the 2008 election.

Tom Vilsack's campaign made significant use of social media by maintaining an active MySpace profile, a collection of viral video clips on YouTube, a Facebook profile, videoblog on blip.

Since then, Tom Vilsack appeared again on the show, now The Kurt Hurner Show at Talk Shoe on August 12,2008, this time as a supporter of Barack Obama for president taking questions from callers to the program for 30 minutes.

Shortly after ending his 2008 bid for the White House, Tom Vilsack endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton and was named the national co-chair for Clinton's presidential campaign.

Tom Vilsack said US forces provided the Iraqi government with "both a crutch and an excuse" for inaction.

Tom Vilsack has governed a largely agricultural state as did the previous two Secretaries of Agriculture, Mike Johanns and Ed Schafer.

Tom Vilsack was the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership, and was named Governor of the Year by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, an industry lobbying group.

Tom Vilsack appointed Shirley Sherrod as the Georgia Director of Rural Development, saying she would be an "important advocate on behalf of rural communities".

Months after the appointment, Tom Vilsack forced her to resign based on accusations of considering race in the handling of her job responsibilities at a private advocacy firm in 1986.

Subsequent reports claimed that Tom Vilsack had overreacted to a selectively edited tape of a speech that Sherrod had given to the NAACP.

Tom Vilsack expressed his "deep regret" to Sherrod in acting hastily.

On January 24,2012, Obama appointed Tom Vilsack the designated survivor during the President's State of the Union address.

In March 2012, Tom Vilsack joined three midwest governors in a campaign to defend the use of a processed beef product made from trimmings left after beef carcasses are butchered, dubbed "pink slime" by its critics.

Tom Vilsack said "it's safe, it contains less fat and historically it's been less expensive" and that it should be available to consumers and school districts that want to buy it.

In 2015, Tom Vilsack told President Obama he was considering resigning from his position.

Obama asked Tom Vilsack to remain in his position and asked him to look into the problem of opioid addiction.

Shortly after his tenure ended, Tom Vilsack released a statement in support of his succession by Sonny Perdue as the Secretary of Agriculture, making Perdue the only cabinet member nominee to receive a public statement of support from an Obama cabinet member.

Tom Vilsack was mentioned as a possible candidate for the United States Senate in 2020, for the seat currently held by Republican incumbent Joni Ernst, but subsequently declined to run.

In February 2017, Tom Vilsack became President and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council.

Tom Vilsack endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

The move was met by some with criticism from black farmers and progressives, because of Tom Vilsack's perceived relationship with status quo and corporate agriculture.

Tom Vilsack appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee on February 2,2021, and was unanimously approved.

Tom Vilsack was sworn into office by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 24,2021.

Tom Vilsack met his wife, Ann Christine "Christie" Bell, in a cafeteria while at Hamilton College in New York in October 1968.

Tom and Christie Vilsack have two sons, Jess and Doug.