View source for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development

{{Infobox official post
| post           = United States<br>Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
| insignia       = US Department of Agriculture seal.svg
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Department of Agriculture
| image          = Official portrait of Basil Gooden, Under Secretary for Rural Development.jpg
| incumbent      = [[Basil Gooden]]
| incumbentsince = March 4, 2024
| formation      = 
| first          = 
| website        = [https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/leadership usda.gov]
}}

The '''Under Secretary for Rural Development''' ('''USDA(RD)''') is a high-ranking official in the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] and principal advisor to the [[United States Secretary of Agriculture]] responsible for oversight of the department's [[USDA Rural Development|rural development programs and policies]].

The Under Secretary is appointed by the [[President of the United States]] with the consent of the [[United States Senate]] to serve at the pleasure of the President. The current Under Secretary is [[Basil Gooden]], who was nominated in September 2023 and assumed office on March 4, 2024.

==Overview==
The Under Secretary for Rural Development, as head of the [[USDA Rural Development|Rural Development Mission Area]], provides assistance to rural communities in the United States. In particular, this assistance comes in three areas: business, utilities, and housing. The Under Secretary for Rural Development oversees loans, grants, and technical assistance to rural residents, communities, and businesses.

With the rank of ''Under Secretary'', the USDA(RD) is a Level III position within the [[Executive Schedule]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/5314|title = 5 U.S. Code § 5314 - Positions at level III}}</ref>

==Reporting officials==
Officials reporting to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development include:
*Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development
*Administrator of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service
**[[Rural Business-Cooperative Service]]
*Administrator of the Rural Housing Service 
**[[Rural Housing Service]]
*Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service
**[[Rural Utilities Service]]

==Office holders== 
Under Secretary Torres-Small was confirmed by voice vote on October 7, 2021.<ref name=XTS_Senate>{{cite journal|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/745|title=PN745 — Xochitl Torres Small — Department of Agriculture|journal=Congress.gov|accessdate=January 4, 2022}}</ref> The previous Under Secretary was Lisa Mensah, who was appointed by President [[Barack Obama]] on May 8, 2014, and confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on November 20, 2014.

Between the two, Anne Hazlett served as Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development, from June 12, 2017,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2017/06/12/secretary-perdue-names-anne-hazlett-lead-rural-development-usda|title = Secretary Perdue Names Anne Hazlett to Lead Rural Development at USDA}}</ref> to February 7, 2019, when Hazlett joined the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/02/07/hazlett-named-senior-adviser-white-house-office-national-drug|title=Hazlett Named Senior Adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy}}</ref>
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes an ''[[acting (law)|Acting]] Under Secretary for Rural Development''|border=black}}

{| class="wikitable" style="clear: right; text-align:center"
! No.
! Portrait
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
! colspan=2 | [[President of the United States|President]]<br>{{small|serving under}}
|-
| 1
| [[File:Jill Long.jpg|100px|Jill Long]]
| [[Jill L. Long]]
| 1995
| 2001
| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
| [[Bill Clinton]]
|-
| 2
| [[File:Thomas Dorr.jpg|100px|Thomas Dorr]]
| [[Thomas C. Dorr]]
| 2002
| 2008
| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| George W. Bush
|-
| 3
| [[File:Dallas P Tonsager.jpg|100px|Dallas P Tonsager]]
| [[Dallas P. Tonsager]]
| May 12, 2009<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Maeve P. |last2=Greene |first2=Michael W. |title=Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 111th Congress, 2009-2010 (R43638) |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6HE7zQEACAAJ |publisher=Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service |access-date=11 March 2023}}</ref>
| 2013
| rowspan=4 style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan=2 | [[Barack Obama]]
|-
| 4
| [[File:Lisa Mensah 2016 (cropped).jpg|100px|Lisa Mensah]]
| [[Lisa Mensah]]
| November 20, 2014
| January 2017
|- 
| 5
| [[File:Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary of Agriculture.jpg|100px|Xochitl Torres Small]]
| [[Xochitl Torres Small]]
| October 13, 2021
| July 17, 2023
| rowspan=2 | [[Joe Biden]]
|- 
| 6
| [[File:Official portrait of Basil Gooden, Under Secretary for Rural Development.jpg|100px|Basil Gooden]]
| [[Basil Gooden]]
| March 4, 2024
| ''Incumbent''
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.rd.usda.gov/ The website of USDA Rural Development]
*[https://www.rd.usda.gov/about-rd/leadership Leadership – Rural Development]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121017040145/http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=usda_bios.html The Department of Agriculture's list of positions under the Under Secretary]

{{USDA agencies}}

[[Category:United States Under Secretaries of Agriculture| ]]
[[Category:Rural society in the United States]]


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