Espy resigned his seat in the House of Representatives to serve as agriculture secretary from 1993 to 1994 in the Clinton administration. He was the first African American ever to serve in the post.
1993: Congressman Mike Espy becomes U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
1993: Mississippi’s timber industry breaks billion dollar mark
Timber was the first agricultural commodity to do so.
1993: Haley Barbour becomes Republican National Committee chairman
He served from from 1993 to 1997.