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Biden Will Choose Marcia Fudge To Head HUD After She Campaigned for Agriculture Job

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge is likely to become the next housing secretary, but it wasn’t her first choice.

President-elect Biden is planning to tap Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to Politico. If Fudge is confirmed as secretary, she’ll be the first Black woman to lead HUD in decades. Biden has been vocal about his wish to have a Cabinet that is more diverse than any in the history of the country. Fudge had been campaigning for the position of agriculture secretary under the new president. She already serves on the House Committee on Agriculture. She had secured the support of the Congressional Black Caucus for that position, as well as House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), whose position on the Senate Banking Committee will give him a hand in her confirmation process. In an interview with Politico last month, Fudge said, “As this country becomes more and more diverse, we’re going to have to stop looking at only certain agencies as those that people like me fit in. You know, it’s always ‘We want to put the Black person in Labor or HUD.’” Now, Politico and others are reporting Fudge’s first choice job at the USDA will likely go to Tom Vilsack. Vilsack, a white man, served as the agriculture secretary for eight years under President Obama.