Shah Confirmed by Senate to Lead USAID

On December 24th, the full Senate confirmed Raj Shah as USAID Administrator.  After eleven months of guessing-games and intrigue, this element of the drama is finally settled.  Now, that same level of attention and energy needs to turn to the tougher stuff -- positioning of the agency in the U.S. government, defining its mandate, and giving it the authorities it needs to raise the bar on effective development policy and foreign assistance.