WHERE WAS TOM? Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak, that is, who was a chairman of the Biden Administration “whole-of-government” Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force formed to end the supply chain crisis in 2021. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and months of ensuing litigation were required to answer the question.

And, as it turns out, documents obtained by a new watchdog group, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI), indicate that Vilsak was present for exactly none of the task force’s meetings. Does this mean Vilsak can no longer be described as a government official who is outstanding in his field?