TORRES SMALL TAPPED TO BE NEXT DEPuTY SECRETARY OF AGRICuLTuRE

By alex roSS roSwell daily record

President Joe Biden has nominated Las Cruces resident and former New Mexico U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small to be the second highest-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On its website, the White House announced Torres Small’s appointment to be the next Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. She will replace current Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh.

“The nomination of Xochitl Torres Small to serve as Deputy Secretary reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to rural prosperity, advancing equity, and making USDA the best place to work,” Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release.

Torres Small has served as Undersecretary for Rural Development at the Department of Agriculture since October 2021. In his release, Vilsack called Torres Small, 38, an exemplary member of the Department’s subcabinet and a dedicated advocate for rural communities.

Vilsack noted in the release that her agency was the first in the federal government to invest funds from the bipartisan infrastructure law for physical infrastructure related to expanding highspeed internet access and to disperse funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to drive down energy costs for agriculture producers and small businesses.

“She has worked to foster a dedicated and diverse workforce ready to serve the American people in Rural Development offices across the country,” Vilsack said in the release.

Torres Small grew up in the New Mexico borderlands before going on to work as a field representative to former New Mexico Democratic Senator Tom Udall and clerk for U.S. District Judge Robert Brack.

She later became an attorney practicing water rights and natural resource law. In 2018, Torres Small, a Democrat, pulled off a narrow win over Republican Yvette Herrell in an open race to represent New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. Herrell later unseated Torres Small in a rematch for the seat in 2020.

Members of the state’s congressional delegation lauded the nomination.

“Congratulations to my friend Xochitl Torres Small on her nomination as USDA Deputy Secretary. As a granddaughter of farmworkers, New Mexico native, and dedicated public servant, she will achieve great things in this position. I look forward to working with her on behalf of New Mexico,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM, and a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture Forestry and Nutrition said in a tweet Wednesday.

Lujan, former congressman for the 3rd Congressional District, served with Torres Small during her time in Congress. The state’s other senator, Martin Heinrich, also congratulated her.

“From her vast experience to her ability to bring people together, I am confident that she will continue to make New Mexico proud,” Heinrich said in a tweet.