USAID chief to leave post next month

The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development will step down next month from the nation’s premier arm for humanitarian aid amid a snowballing pandemic.

Mark Green said his resignation, submitted to President Donald Trump in a letter Sunday, does not stem from any dissatisfaction with the administration’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“They’re not related at all,” Green said in a phone interview about his departure from USAID, where he has been the administrator for the past 2½ years.

Green is expected to be replaced, at least temporarily, by Bonnie Glick, the deputy administrator. But his departure leaves the administration with one less experienced hand to help coordinate a worldwide response to the most serious crisis to confront the Trump White House. That could have broader implications if the hot spot shifts from Europe, where USAID is less active, to regions where it is more entrenched, such as Africa and Southeast Asia.

Early this month, USAID announced a $37 million donation to help groups such as the World Health Organization cope with the outbreak. In its latest budget request, the Trump administration has proposed slashing funding for global health programs by more than $3 billion. But Congress is unlikely to go along, given broad bipartisan support for foreign aid meted out by USAID and the State Department.

USAID is an independent agency that has the primary authority to administer aid for civilian, humanitarian and development programs. It recently pulled together a team to coordinate its response to the coronavirus and has sent protective equipment and money to several countries.