Trump's man at the UN: Senate leader's son-in-law tapped to lead World Food Programme amid deepening global hunger crisis

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accepted Trump nominee Luke Lindberg from among dozens of candidates to lead the World Food Programme (WFP), a document showed and a UN official confirmed on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Lindberg, a senior US agricultural official, was recommended by Guterres and Qu Dongyu, the Chinese national heading the Food and Agriculture Organization, according to a September 11 letter sent to the head of the WFP board. Some 54 candidates had applied for the role, the letter noted without naming them, with nine eventually shortlisted.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq confirmed to Reuters that the organisation had accepted a recommendation for the role from a hiring panel and had transmitted it to the WFP, and was now awaiting the board's response. A UN official said the nomination, first reported by Devex, was expected to be confirmed by the WFP board on Friday. The White House and State Department had no immediate comment.


Who is Luke Lindberg?

Lindberg, 37, currently serves as the US Department of Agriculture's Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, a post he has held since early 2025. In that role, he has overseen the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program and Food for Progress, and led the restructuring of the Food for Peace programme, USDA's flagship international food aid initiative, following the shutdown of USAID.

Before joining the administration, Lindberg founded South Dakota Trade, an association helping Midwestern businesses access international markets, and previously served as chief of staff and chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

He is also a fellow at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank founded by former Trump administration officials, and is the son-in-law of Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

The Trump administration formally put Lindberg forward for the post in April, with the State Department saying at the time that his "strategic vision, geopolitical insight, and focus on accountability" made him suited to lead the WFP's emergency food operations.

If confirmed, he would succeed Cindy McCain, who announced her resignation as executive director last year following a stroke.

A tradition of American leadership

The WFP's top job has gone to an American nominee for roughly three decades, a reflection of Washington's outsized role in funding the agency. Lindberg would be the second Republican-nominated WFP chief under Trump, following David Beasley, who led the organisation during Trump's first term and oversaw its budget grow from $5.8 billion to $14.1 billion over six years, according to Devex.

Why the timing matters

Nearly 300 million people face crisis levels of hunger this year, the WFP says, with the war in Iran adding further strain to global food security. The WFP, established in 1961 as a joint project of the UN and the FAO with the backing of then-South Dakota senator George McGovern, is the world's largest humanitarian organisation, providing emergency food relief, cash assistance, and development support in crisis zones.

Despite steep cuts by President Trump to US foreign aid spending, including funding once channelled through the now-shuttered USAID, the United States remains the WFP's single largest donor. Some American contributions to the Rome-based agency are made in-kind or stipulate that food must be of US origin, arrangements that also benefit American agricultural businesses.

(With inputs from Reuters)