Millionairess Trump donor in frame to head WFP as McCain quits

 ROME -- Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Thursday said she will step down, raising the prospect that US Ambassador to the UN agencies, Lynda Blanchard, a millionairess donor to US President Trump and MAGA movement icon, might be the next head of the hunger-fighting body, diplomatic sources said.

  The announcement had been expected for some time. Ms McCain, who had a stroke in October, returned in early January to the organization’s headquarters in Rome to resume her duties. She "found the demands of the job were outpacing her recovery," WFP said. In addition to her health problems, Ms McCain was criticised by some for being remote from staff, many of whom felt that she had adopted a too pro-Israeli stance during the Israeli response in Gaza to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. Her management style was compared by many with the popular leadership of her predecessor, David Beasley, who collected a Nobel prize for WFP and introduced benefits for employees including a new health insurance scheme.

 If Ms Blanchard, 66, is proposed by the Trump administration to take over the helm of WFP, she would follow the same trajectory as Ms McCain, who originally also was ambassador to the food agencies nominated by the Biden administration. The head of WFP formally is appointed by the head of the FAO in consultation with the UN Secretary General, but in practise FAO chiefs in recent decades have concurred with the US view that WFP should be an American fiefdom. A recent attempt by Germany, the second largest donor to WFP after the United States, to propose candidates to get the top job, was dismissed by the then FAO director general Jose Graziano da Silva.

 FAO DG Qu Dongyu likely will rubber stamp the appointment of Blanchard or whoever Trump and his entourage want to head WFP, though Qu may try to use his position to ensure American support for whoever he wants to succeed him as FAO kingpin when he steps down next year after two terms, diplomatic sources say. Candidates from Italy and Ireland are jockeying for position to run in the FAO election.

  Technically WFP is not an UN specialised agency. It is a joint programme of FAO and the UN, explaining why the ED is appointed jointly by the SG and the FAO DG. UNHCR, UNICEF and UNDP also are classed as programmes rather than agencies. The WFP Board has to go to the FAO Council and because it is 50 percent UN it needs to jump through the hoops with its budget in New York. FAO doesn't have that hassle. 

 Ms Blanchard donated nearly dlrs 1 million to Trump but reportedly irked him by allegedly claiming too soon he had endorsed her as a Republican candidate in her native Alabama for the US Senate. Nevertheless her previous appointment as Ambassador to Slovenia, the homeland of the First Lady, indicated she had schmoozed over any irritation. Before Blanchard’s confirmation, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) called her out for posting “incendiary false articles” and conspiracy theories on her Facebook page.

 In addition to Blanchard one senior WFP executive speculated that even Ivanka Trump might get the WFP top job or that Washington might recall Beasley for another term. "Bring back Beasley," he told Italian Insider.

“With a heavy heart, I am announcing my intention to step down as the Executive Director of the World Food Programme,” said McCain. “Serving this incredible organization has been the honor of a lifetime.

 “I’ve seen firsthand WFP’s ability to save lives in the most dangerous, destitute, and remote locations of the world, where people need us the most. Time and time again, I have seen the WFP team show up where no one else can, no matter the odds. I had truly hoped I could finish out my term, but my health has not recovered to a level that allows me to fully serve the enormous demands of this job. This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make." 

 “Over the past three years, we have delivered life-saving and life-changing assistance for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people – and this unwavering commitment will be more important than ever in the years to come. To our donors, partners and our global WFP team: thank you for everything you have done and continue to do. I will remain WFP’s biggest champion and continue to be an unwavering voice for those struggling with hunger everywhere.”

 Ms McCain assumed the role of WFP Executive Director April 5, 2023. "During her tenure she has driven several unprecedented changes to reform and scale the organization’s abilities including overhauling its global structure, streamlining its operations and processes, scaling innovative digital technologies, and diversifying its public and private partnership efforts," WFP said.