In April, Gayle Smith was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve as the next administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the world’s largest bilateral development agency. But she must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before taking on the role, and sources close to the process tell Devex that Smith’s confirmation is in trouble.
The pushback stems from a questionnaire Smith filled out for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Included was a query about the Helms amendment, a four-decade piece of legislation sponsored by the late Sen. Jesse Helms that prohibits the use of foreign aid dollars for abortion-related programming. Smith’s reply was, according to sources who wish to remain confidential due to sensitive ongoing negotiations, seen by Republican senators as noncommittal.
“We were all set and submitted all the questions for the record,” Susan Reichle, counselor to USAID, told Devex. “Then some questions were raised about the Helms amendment, and so it was postponed and that’s what we’re waiting on, for another business meeting before the recess [next month].”
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
