Trump Picks President of NGO Banned in Russia to Head USAID

US President Donald Trump has picked the president of banned in Russia the International Republican Institute (IRI) to head the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Trump tapped the president of the IRI, Ambassador Mark Green, to head the USAID, the White House said in a statement.

"Ambassador Mark Green is currently serving as President of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing citizen-responsive, citizen centered governance around the world," the statement said Wednesday.

In August of 2016, Russian Prosecutor General’s office officially recognized the IRI as an undesirable group on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Green previously served on the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation from 2011 to 2016. He has also served as ambassador to Tanzania from 2007 to 2009, according to the statement.

Green was a member of the House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 98th District. As a member of Congress, and he served on the House Judiciary and International Relations Committees, the statement said.

He played a role in developing key policy initiatives including the Millennium Challenge Act and President George W. Bush's international AIDS program, the statement said.

IRI — and its sister organizations – the National Democratic Institute, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the Solidarity Center — are widely considered by analysts to be US instruments of political pressure and regime change that operate under the guise of promoting democracy and free enterprise.