Trump’s nominee, David Malpass named World Bank president

David Malpass, a Senior United States Treasury official, has been appointed the president of the World Bank Group, placing a loyalist of President Donald Trump, who had been nominated by him at the helm of the development lender.

Malpass was unanimously selected to serve a five-year term from April 9, the World Bank’s executive board said in a statement on Friday.

Trump nominated Malpass in February, choosing a loyal supporter who had been sharply critical of China and called for a shakeup of the global economic order. Critics including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz questioned the selection, pointing to Malpass’s doubts about international cooperation, Time reported.

But no other countries proposed any candidates to challenge Malpass, making his selection by the board all but assured.

Before his nomination, Malpass portrayed the World Bank as too big, inefficient and reluctant to cut funding for developing countries that grow into dynamic emerging markets. He pushed the bank to lend less to China, arguing the world’s second-biggest economy has the financial resources to support itself.