Kate Hodal
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| Mark Green, president of the International Republican Institute, has been nominated by Donald Trump to lead the US Agency for International Development. Photograph: Courtesy of IRI |
Mark Green, a former US ambassador to Tanzania, will need to see through huge funding cuts after receiving the presidential nod to lead USAid
Donald Trump has achieved what could be seen as a first under his presidency: choosing someone to lead a state department who has met with bipartisan approval.
Trump has nominated Mark Green, a former congresssman and one-time US ambassador to Tanzania who has worked under both the Obama and George W Bush administrations, to lead the US Agency for International Development (USAid). In what could be one of the toughest jobs in Trump’s government, Green will have to oversee the massive funding cuts the White House is proposing to the agency, the effects of which are expected to reverberate globally.
Green, 56, has been praised by aid workers and politicians alike as an “exceptional choice” who will bring “unprecedented experience” to the job.
President of the pro-democracy International Republican Institute, he is well regarded and known for his bipartisan approach to foreign assistance – a quality that will come in handy as Congress goes head to head over proposed budgetary cuts of nearly one-third to USAid and the state department.
Aid organisations and politicians have backed the nomination of Green, 56, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School who went on to teach in Kenya alongside his wife with WorthTeach. He served four terms in Congress (1999-2007), acting as ambassador to Tanzania under George W Bush, before Barack Obama appointed him to the board of directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
“I don’t think anyone has come to this position with as varied a background in this field as Mark,” said Kenneth Wollack, president of the National Democratic Institute “He’s had a career in politics, diplomacy, development and democracy. He comes to this position with an unprecedented experience and expertise, and I think he is going to bring a great deal to this agency and its mission, and US efforts in this regard.”
Once approved by the Senate, Green will take up the role vacated by Gayle Smith, whose appointment by Barack Obama rankled some critics.
House Speaker Paul Ryan – elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 alongside him – said Green was “driven by a passion to help people in need”.
“His years of experience fighting poverty and repression in the developing world make him an exceptional choice,” said Ryan. “In this post, Mark will serve as a strong voice for liberty and help strengthen American leadership abroad.”
Green has a particular interest in Africa. His father hails from South Africa and he spent time there as a child.
“Mark is a very exceptional choice at this time,” said Liz Schrayer, president of the US Global Leadership Coalition, a group of businesses and NGOs advocating US leadership through development and diplomacy.
“People respect him, people listen to him, and I’m confident if Mark has a seat at the table, and people listen to him, they will understand his expertise on development and how he understands that if you use it as the right tool, it can lead to economic growth and the expansion of America’s security, economics and values.”
Michelle Nunn, head of the American NGO Care, which has worked with USAid across 80 countries for 60 years, said: “Care looks forward to working with Ambassador Green to support our shared commitment to addressing current development and humanitarian challenges, and to building upon the transparency and accountability results that USAid has achieved.”
But Nunn noted the organisation’s concern at Trump’s proposed cuts, which she warned could “threaten our country’s ability to safeguard against the desperation and instability often caused by extreme poverty and suffering”.
In a statement, the International Republican Institute also heaped praise on Green’s nomination: “Throughout his career, Ambassador Green has worked tirelessly to advance democracy around the world, a priority we have no doubt will continue if he is confirmed.”
Wollack said his nomination should be seen as a positive sign that, despite impending cuts, some people in politics are keen to see US aid continue.
“Somebody with [Green’s] background is not somebody who wants to close the doors of USAid or stop US development overseas, so obviously there are other people in the administration who have similar views,” said Wollack.
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