The White House announced a new acting administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, a position that has reportedly generated debate among development leaders.
John Barsa, who was named as the next acting director of the agency on Tuesday, is currently the assistant administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. The move comes a day after USAID Administrator Mark Green said he was stepping aside to return to the private sector.
According to Devex, prior to the announcement, “prominent outside development leaders” had lobbied for USAID’s Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick to take over instead of Barsa.
“This is not the time for instability in leadership at the top,” said Conor Savoy, executive director at the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. “They should name the deputy administrator as the acting administrator. It will strengthen AID’s hand.”
USAID is tasked with delivering foreign aid and development assistance. The leadership change comes as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, which worldwide has resulted in 196,106 cases of the virus, almost 81,000 recoveries, and 7,869 deaths, according to the latest reading by the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Barsa was sworn in to the assistant administrator position in June 2019 but previously was a member of President Trump’s team that helped coordinate the administration’s transition with the Department of Homeland Security. He has also worked for former Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida and has worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
