

President Donald Trump is reportedly narrowing down his list of preferred candidates to fill the vacant president position at the World Bank, a small group that includes several longtime GOP donors and two Trump loyalists.

Treasury Undersecretary David Malpass is the most recent addition to the shortlist, according to Bloomberg. The former Bear Stearns economist is best known for his optimistic forecasts for the U.S. economy in 2007, just before the ensuing financial crisis.

Malpass and his wife Adele have contributed $236,850 to Republican candidates and groups since 1994, though they did not give to Trump. Malpass gained influence with Trump instead by joining the campaign as an advisor and championing Trump’s economic policies on TV and in opinion pieces.

Trump nominated Malpass for his Treasury position in March 2017. While at his post, Malpass pushed Trump’s trade policies and reportedly pushed the World Bank to decrease the amount of money it loans to China.

Malpass has his own political history, finishing runner-up for the Republican nomination in New York’s 2010 U.S. Senate race and founding the short-lived Grow PAC super PAC the same year.

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Another Trump campaign official and subsequent appointee, Overseas Private Investment Corporation President Ray Washburne, is also under consideration for the job.

Washburne served as vice chairman of Trump’s joint fundraising committee Trump Victory in 2016. He and his wife Heather have given $640,211 to Republican candidates and causes since 1993 — including $359,211 to the Republican National Committee — and gave $35,000 to Trump Victory.

Robert Kimmitt, who served as Deputy Treasury Secretary during the Bush Administration and acting Treasury Secretary for less than two weeks in 2006, is also a reported finalist for the post. He and his wife Holly have given a decent chunk of change — $146,015 — to Republican candidates and groups since 1996. Kimmitt has taken several spins through the revolving door, holding a number of positions in both government and the private sector, and was a finalist to head the World Bank in 2007 but lost out to Robert Zoellick.

The remaining two reported finalists for the job — U.S. Agency for International Development chief Mark Andrew Green and PepsiCo Inc. Chairman Indra Nooyi — aren’t bigtime GOP donors at all, giving next to nothing over their respective careers. Nooyi’s husband Raj gave $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee and $2,000 to Presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.

Bloomberg reported that though the World Bank’s executive board oversees the selection of the organization’s president, it likely wouldn’t challenge Trump’s pick as long as he selected someone credible. The World Bank has a longstanding tradition of being run by a U.S.-appointed American, but other member countries of the financial institution could challenge a nominee.



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