New York Times: Partisan Tussle Keeps Top U.S. Aid Job Vacant
“As the international community confronts a refugee crisis, the nominee to head the American agency responsible for overseas humanitarian issues is stalled in the Senate, leaving the Obama administration with a critical vacancy as it grapples with how to assist those displaced by conflict in the Middle East and Africa. The nominee, Gayle Smith, a National Security Council official picked by President Obama in April to direct the United States Agency for International Development, remains tied up in a partisan Senate fight over nominations despite bipartisan backing for her confirmation…” (Hulse, 9/10).