Obama names new USAID chief

President Obama will nominate Gayle Smith, a senior National Security Council official, to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the White House said Thursday.

Smith would replace Rajiv Shah, who left the foreign civilian aid agency in February after serving as its chief since 2009.

{mosads}She has decades of experience working in African development and also served in the Clinton administration and with non-governmental organizations. USAID has helped lead the country’s overseas response to the Ebola crisis in Africa.

Shah was well-liked by both parties on Capitol Hill for his focus on smarter spending and enlisting private businesses to run agency projects in order to keep costs down.

But the agency has faced scrutiny over its covert propaganda efforts to use hip-hop artists and a Twitter-like social media platform to promote democracy in Cuba.

Obama said Smith has his “full confidence” and said she would be an outstanding leader for the agency.

“Gayle’s energy and passion have been instrumental in guiding America’s international development policy, responding to a record number of humanitarian crises worldwide, and ensuring that development remains at the forefront of the national security agenda at a time when USAID is more indispensable than ever,” he said in a statement.