The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday approved President Biden’s nominations of Alexis Taylor to be agriculture undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, Jose Emilio Esteban to be agriculture undersecretary for food safety, and Vincent Logan to be a member of the Farm Credit Administration board.

The nominations now to go the full Senate for consideration.

“Dr. Jose Esteban, Vincent Logan, and Alexis Taylor have spent their careers as dedicated public servants and are proven to be highly qualified for these critical roles. Each of these nominees has strong bipartisan support, and I am looking forward to moving them quickly through the Senate,” said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

“I am pleased that the committee acted quickly after the hearing to move these three well-qualified nominees forward. From overseeing the safety of our nation’s food supply, to ensuring access to dependable sources of credit, to expanding market access overseas, Dr. Jose Esteban, Vincent Logan and Alexis Taylor will help guide missions that are essential to our family farmers and ranchers. I am confident they are up to the task and look forward to working with each of them should they receive Senate confirmation,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., committee ranking member.

Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, praised the approval of the Taylor nomination.

“It’s encouraging to see the nomination of Alexis Taylor move through the Senate Ag Committee in a bipartisan manner. Our farmers, ranchers and processors rely on overseas markets to successfully run their operations. It is imperative that we have a full team of negotiators on the field to bolster American exports, and having Alexis Taylor as undersecretary of Ag Trade at USDA is essential to doing that. The full Senate should move her nomination forward as soon as possible.”

Kuehl added, “We are also asking the Senate to move swiftly in confirming Doug McKalip as ag trade negotiator at USTR. We are concerned to see that Sen. [Robert] Menendez [D-N.J.] has placed a hold on the nomination of Mr. McKalip. Regardless of Sen. Menendez’s intentions behind the hold, further delaying the ag negotiator position is self-defeating and a disservice to American farmers who rely on exports. We encourage Sen. Menendez to work with the administration to lift the hold as soon as possible.”