Will Bolton's Hostile Stance on World Bank Influence Policy?

A nagging quesiton surfaced not long after John Bolton assumed the position of national security adviser: Would his often critical view of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund influence policy?

With the spring meetings of both international organizations coming up in two weeks, Newsmax asked the White House whether Bolton’s appointment signals the U.S. would be diminishing its role in the World Bank and IMF.

“I don’t have any policy changes on that front at this time,” press secretary Sarah Sanders told me, “and don’t expect any on that front.”

In an op-ed in the Times of London following the 2016 elections, Bolton quoted a 1998 article by two former U.S. Treasury secretaries that concluded “the IMF is ineffective, unnecessary, and obsolete.”

With a new president taking office, Bolton emphasized, “We still need such creativity, not just regarding the IMF but the World Bank and the regional development banks. We should consider privatizing all the development banks, with the possible exception of the one for Africa.”

For its part, the Trump administration has maintained the same strong level of support for both organizations as the Obama administration did.

Referring to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin told Newsmax last June: “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with Christine at least a dozen times. I think the IMF plays a very important role in looking at currency and world economies. The IMF was very helpful in regards to stabilizing the Greece [financial crisis] and working with Europe. I think that could have been a major problem this summer that would have had significant concerns to the markets and the economy, and I think she was a very important part of those negotiations.”