United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Seal of the department
Flag of the department
Incumbent Stephen Vaden since July 7, 2025
United States Department of Agriculture
Style	Deputy Secretary
Reports to	United States Secretary of Agriculture
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	Thepresident withSenateadvice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	1977
First holder	John Coyle White

TheUnited States deputy secretary of agriculture is the second-highest-ranking official in theUnited States Department of Agriculture, appointed by thePresident with the advice and consent of theSenate.^[1] The deputy secretary becomes actingsecretary of agriculture in the event of the Secretary's resignation, death, or other inability to fulfill the duties of the position. The deputy secretary performs whatever duties are prescribed to him or her by the secretary of agriculture.^[2] The deputy secretary of agriculture is paid at level II of theExecutive Schedule.^[3]

The position of deputy secretary of agriculture was originally called the under secretary of agriculture, until the title was changed in 1976.^[4] Previous deputy secretaries by recency includeChuck Conner (September 2005–January 2009),^[5] Jim Moseley (August 2001 – April 2005),^[6]Richard Rominger (May 1993 – January 2001),^[7]Ann Veneman (1991–1993),^[8] andJack Parnell (1989–1991).^[9] On July 13, 2017, PresidentDonald Trump announced his intent to nominateStephen Censky, the CEO of the American Soybean Association, as deputy secretary. Censky was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 3, 2017, and served until November, 2020.Jewel H. Bronaugh previously served as the senate-confirmed Deputy Secretary from her confirmation on May 13, 2021 until her departure in March 2023. She was the first African-American to serve as deputy secretary.Xochitl Torres Small was nominated by Joe Biden in February 2023, and served as the deputy secretary from July 2023 to January 20, 2025. In December 2020, President Trump announced that he would nominateStephen Vaden to the role.^[10]

Two deputy secretaries have gone on to head the Department of Agriculture, Ann Veneman and Richard Lyng.

  denotes Acting Deputy Secretary

Parties

  Democratic (7)  Republican (8)

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		John Coyle White	Texas	1977	December 1977		Jimmy Carter
2		Jim Williams	Florida	1979	January 20, 1981
3		Richard Edmund Lyng	California	1981	January 1985		Ronald Reagan[11]
4		John R. Norton III	Arizona	1985	1986
5		Peter C. Myers	Missouri	June 4, 1986	1989
6		Jack Parnell	Washington	April 20, 1989	May 1, 1991		George H. W. Bush
7		Ann Veneman	California	June 27, 1991	January 20, 1993
8		Richard Rominger	California	May 12, 1993	January 20, 2001		Bill Clinton
9		Jim Moseley	Indiana	July 17, 2001[12]	April 2005		George W. Bush
10		Charles F. Conner	Indiana	May 2, 2005	January 20, 2009
11		Kathleen Merrigan	Massachusetts	April 8, 2009	March 14, 2013		Barack Obama
12		Krysta Harden	Georgia	July 23, 2013	February 29, 2016
–		Michael Scuse	Delaware	March 1, 2016	January 20, 2017
–		Mike Young	Washington D.C.	January 20, 2017	October 10, 2017		Donald Trump
13		Stephen Censky	Missouri	October 11, 2017	November 8, 2020
14		Jewel H. Bronaugh	Virginia	May 17, 2021	March 3, 2023		Joe Biden
15		Xochitl Torres Small	New Mexico	July 17, 2023	January 20, 2025
16		Stephen Vaden	Tennessee	July 7, 2025	Incumbent		Donald Trump

• United States Department of Agriculture officials
• United States deputy secretaries
• United States deputy secretaries of agriculture

• Articles with short description
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