Ivanka Trump (daughter and advisor to President Donald Trump) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin listen as they attend an event in Derry (N.H.), on April 17, 2018. AP Photo/Elise Amendola
According to The Intercept, Steve Mnuchin intervened in order to prevent Ivanka Trump's leadership of the World Bank.
According to a source, the pick was "extremely close" to becoming a reality.
Trump, the former President of the United States, was a strong advocate for his daughter's rise to the top.
According to The Intercept, Donald Trump tried to name his daughter Ivanka Trump as the head of the World Bank in 2019. However, Steve Mnuchin, then Treasury Secretary, blocked the appointment.
Jim Yong Kim (an anthropologist and physician) announced that he would be stepping down as World Bank President in January 2019. This caused a frenzy for those who wanted to take over the coveted post.
Kim's unexpected departure gave Donald Trump the opportunity to reshape leadership at the World Bank. The international financial institution has always been led by an American citizen.
Ivanka Trump was a top choice for the White House as it compiled a list. She told The Atlantic that she was a great choice since "she's very skilled with numbers."
Ivanka Trump said that she turned down the World Bank presidency in April 2019. She stated to The Associated Press that she was happy with the work she was doing as a senior advisor for the president.
Although Ivanka Trump did not assume the role, she assisted Mnuchin, Mick Mulvaney, the then-White House chief, in choosing Kim's successor, David Malpass. Malpass was, at the time, the Under Secretary for the Treasury for International Affairs.
Two sources told The Intercept that the talk about Ivanka Trump's potential ascent to the top at the World Bank did not originate in Washington, DC.
Trump's daughter was the one who wanted the job, so Mnuchin had the to stop the selection.
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According to The Intercept, a source said that "It was incredibly close"
The Intercept reached out to Mnuchin representatives and Ivanka Trump for comment. The news outlet also did not respond to queries about the Trump Organization and the World Bank.
The World Bank was established in 1944 and aims to promote economic growth and reduce poverty by providing technical and financial assistance to countries to "reform certain sectors or implement projects". This includes education, healthcare, and finance.
Ivanka Trump worked as an executive vice president for development and acquisitions at Trump Organization before she was elected to the White House. Her own fashion line included clothing, shoes and accessories.
Ivanka Trump, her father, was elected president. She helped to establish the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative. This initiative was funded by the World Bank. It was designed to provide funding for women entrepreneurs in developing nations.
Jessica Ditto, then spokesperson for the White House, pointed out Ivanka Trump’s involvement with the initiative in January 2019 to support the first daughter's elevation to the World Bank.
Ditto stated that she had worked closely with the World Bank leadership over the past two-years.
She lacked the financial expertise that her predecessors brought to the job.
Scott Morris, the director of the US policy program at The Center for Global Development, told The Intercept that "that's a very thin basis to try to establish credibility within this multilateral institution." It's difficult to imagine her being viewed as credible leader. This would be the most unconstitutional exercise of US power.
He said, "I think she would have faced some resistance as a candidate." But perhaps [the bank's] members wouldn't have wanted to provoke President Trump."
Morris stated to The Intercept that the close-appointment could raise questions about the US' continued unilateral appointing of the World Bank's leadership.
He said that "a growing number of countries do not like this arrangement." "The fact that they heard how close it was with being the US president’s daughter only adds fuel to the flame of Americans being so apathetic about this."
Business Insider has the original article.
