Senators on Thursday approved Elizabeth Hagen as the top food-safety official at the U.S. Agriculture Department, a post that was vacant for months, and Catherine Woteki to oversee USDA's research arm.
Hagen and Woteki were confirmed as agriculture undersecretaries by voice vote. President Barack Obama used a recess appointment on Aug 10 to install Hagen as undersecretary for food safety, overseeing meat safety. The Senate vote assures her of serving a full term.
It took the administration nearly a year after taking office to announce Hagen, USDA's chief medical officer, as its nominee for the job.
The late-summer recall of half a billion eggs by two Iowa farms highlighted the absence of an administration appointee.
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