As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump fills out his Cabinet with loyalists, firebrands, and provocateurs, the U.S. government’s foreign assistance community is rife with speculation about whom he will pick to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development.
While USAID’s top job is always closely watched, in Trump’s second presidential transition it seems to carry almost existential weight. Will Trump choose someone invested in U.S. global development leadership and politically savvy enough to make a case for its value? Or will he hand USAID’s keys to a disrupter with a mandate to dismantle the agency and free up funds for other priorities?
And of course, since this is the Trump administration we’re talking about, there is always the possibility for something totally unpredictable.