Sherrod claims the White House was behind her forced resignation; Vilsack claims they were not.
Still, after intense media coverage of the fallout from the resignation, Vilsack released a written statement Tuesday afternoon defending and explaining his decision. He said the controversy itself was enough to make her job difficult.
"Yesterday, I asked for and accepted Ms. Sherrod's resignation for two reasons. First, for the past 18 months, we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at USDA and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. Second, state rural development directors make many decisions and are often called to use their discretion," he said. "The controversy surrounding her comments would create situations where her decisions, rightly or wrongly, would be called into question making it difficult for her to bring jobs to Georgia."