By Daily Sabah News
President Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped a World Bank critic described as a “happy warrior” of pro-growth policies to lead one of the world’s primary development lending institutions.
David Malpass, a senior official in the Treasury Department, is a controversial choice but if Trump wins the support of a majority the bank’s shareholders, especially European nations, he would have the opportunity to reshape the bank.
Trump called Malpass “an extraordinary man” who is the “right person” to lead the institution.
Trump’s nomination of Malpass, the Treasury Department’s top diplomat, is subject to a vote by the World Bank’s executive board and could draw challengers from some of the bank’s 188 other shareholding countries.
The United States, the lender’s largest shareholder with 16 percent of its voting power, has traditionally chosen the bank’s president, but departing president Jim Yong Kim faced challengers from Colombia and Nigeria in 2012.
The nomination of Malpass, who beat out other potential candidates, including former PepsiCo chief executive officer Indra Nooyi and U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp President Ray Washburne, signals that the Trump administration wants a firmer grip on the global development lender
