President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has named David Malpass to run the World Bank he has advocated to reform.
Malpass served as an economic adviser during Trump’s 2016 campaign before joining the Trump administration in the Treasury Department in 2017.
During his announcement from the White House on Wednesday, the president told of his longtime relationship with Malpass. He highlighted the nominee’s 40-year history of service, including positions in each the Ronald Reagan administrations and the George W. Bush administration:
“America is the largest contributor of the World Bank, giving it over $1 billion every year,” the president said, pointing to oversight to ensure U.S. dollars are spent “effectively and wisely, serve American interests, and defend American values.”
“David has been a strong advocate for accountability at the World Bank for a long time,” Trump emphasized. “He has fought to ensure financing is focused on the places and projects that truly need assistance, including people living in extreme poverty.” He added that Malpass was a critical part of the women’s entrepreneurs finance initiatives component of the organization.
“He’s been with me for a long time. He’s a supporter for a long time,” Trump said.
President Trump called Malpass “highly respected” and “brilliant,” predicting he was going to do very well in the new position.
Malpass highlighted the work of the Treasury under the Trump administration to negotiate a “major capital increase and reform package for the World Bank.” He went on: “With shareholders and dedicated staff, there’s a great opportunity now to implement these constructive reforms that will lead to faster growth and greater prosperity.”
“A key goal will be to ensure that women achieve full participation in developing economies,” said Malpass. He recognized first daughter Ivanka Trump for her work on women’s economic empowerment: “I look forward to continuing our work together on her women’s global development prosperity initiative.”
“Mr. President, I’m very optimistic that we can achieve breakthroughs to create growth abroad that will help us combat extreme poverty and increase economic opportunity in the developing world,” said Malpass, who thanked the president for the “great honor.”
Malpass participated in January 30 trade negotiations in Washington, DC, with a delegation from China in pursuit of a trade agreement. A senior administration official said Wednesday that Malpass will still travel with a U.S. trade delegation to China as part of these continued negotiations, seeking a resolution before a tariff truce ends on March 1.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump, senior adviser to the president, led the search for a new World Bank president. A senior administration official attributed the selection of Malpass to his focus on creating a better quality of life in developing countries and long history of advocating for pro-growth policies.
As president of the World Bank, Malpass plans to advance “broadly shared growth in the countries that need it most and … focus building and expanding a robust middle class in emerging economies,” according to a senior administration official.
Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook.