President Trump is set to nominate senior Treasury official David Malpass to lead the World Bank, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Two administration officials told the outlet that the official announcement would be made sometime later this week after Trump’s State of the Union address.
{mosads}Malpass, a Treasury undersecretary, has reportedly been the front-runner to fill the position.
Among those reportedly also interviewed were Heidi Cruz, the wife of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and prominent investor Mohamed El-Erian.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the report.
Malpass has supported the president’s agenda of tax cuts and deregulation to bolster economic growth since being appointed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in 2017.
He has been particularly vocal about reducing the national debt.
Bloomberg reports that Malpass has frequently criticized the World Bank, calling it too big, too inefficient and too reluctant to wean developing countries that have become engines of growth.
The lender’s executive board, which represents the 189 member nations, gets the final decision on the new leader.
Jim Yong Kim, an Obama appointee, resigned as World Bank head in January to become vice chairman of investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners, three years before his term was set to expire.