November 10th, 2009 by Jason

Laura Rozen at Politico reports that Rajiv Shah will be nominated to head USAID. The 36 year-old Shah currently serves as the USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist and has previously managed a $1.5 billion vaccine fund for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Hill staffers have so far thrown their support behind Shah, who is known as a “whiz kid” by those who have worked with him.

The position has been vacant since President Obama’s inauguration, causing consternation within the foreign assistance field. As a deadline loomed to appoint the USAID head, it became increasingly clear that the Obama administration would likely have to tap someone who had already undergone the Senate confirmation process.

Rozen also reports that it is unclear “how the USAID administrator job would shake out” as both the State Department and the NSC are currently conducting reviews on how the United States provides foreign assistance.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy, US politics |