Sitting in my Berlin hotel room last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at about 1:30 am, I saw a note from the White House come through the transom that was not about the President’s West Point speech on Afghanistan and Pakistan but rather about new presidential appointments.
While foreign policy junkies were focused on America’s war challenges, the White House released news that it has appointed my friend and frequent Washington Note blogger Douglas Rediker to its international economic team to serve as United States Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund.
Long time Department of Treasury official David Mills was also nominated by the President to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce.
Rediker has been serving as Director of the New America Foundation Global Strategic Finance Initiative and is one of the country’s leading commentators on the re-emergence of state capitalism as a key feature of the global economy.
This is an excellent choice by the White House as Doug Rediker is highly competent on both macro and micro policy questions – and understands both the strengths and limits of markets.
Congratulations Doug — from the readers and team at The Washington Note and the New America Foundation.
— Steve Clemons
