Bill Northey’s nomination to the USDA confirmed, Gov. Reynolds reacts

Today by voice vote, the U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey to the position of USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation.

'It is a tremendous honor for me to be confirmed to serve as an Under Secretary of Agriculture. I want to thank President Donald Trump for nominating me and Secretary Perdue for his support and encouragement throughout the confirmation process. I also want to thank Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst for their strong support and their tireless work on behalf of my nomination. I greatly appreciate Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow and the entire Senate Ag Committee for their bipartisan support of my nomination. I look forward to continuing to work closely with them in this new role,” said Northey in a statement.

The office of Gov. Kim Reynolds has released a statement on Tuesday congratulating Northey on his confirmation. The statement reads: 'Bill Northey is a talented, passionate, hardworking Iowan, and I am excited to see him serve in this new role.

Bill served Iowans as Secretary of Agriculture for more than a decade. His time was marked with significant progress and innovation in agriculture, including water quality. He also provided our state with rock solid leadership in times of droughts, floods and an avian flu outbreak.

Through it all, his commitment to this state and its people never wavered. Iowa is better thanks to his service, and the nation will be better with Bill in his new role as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.”

Northey's nomination to a USDA post still is in limbo. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas has put a hold on the nomination until he gets a meeting with President Donald Trump about the Renewable Fuel Standard.

'While this process has taken longer than expected,” Northey said in a statement. 'I remain as excited as ever to work with Secretary Perdue and the staff at USDA to support of our nation's farmers and ranchers.

I want to express my deep appreciation to the people of Iowa for affording me the opportunity to serve in this role for the past eleven years. Working with and learning from the men and women who make Iowa agriculture the dynamic and productive industry that feeds the world has been honor of a lifetime.”

Northey was nominated to fill the position in September, 2017.

The Iowa Farm Bureau has also released a statement that 'For the past decade, Bill Northey has served admirably as Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture, and we wish him all the best in his new role with the USDA leading the newly-created office of Farm Production and Conservation.

Under the leadership of Secretary Northey, Iowa's agricultural economy has grown and diversified, and Iowa continues to be recognized as a national leader in conservation. Northey has been instrumental bringing new conservation opportunities and advocating for Iowa farmers seeking new and improved conservation practices on their farms.”

More updates and reaction will be added to this post as the story unfolds.