Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said Thursday that she would step down over health concerns. The widow of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, suffered a mild stroke in October.
She returned to Rome in January to resume her duties. But in a statement published Thursday morning McCain said her health “has not recovered to a level that allows me to fully serve the enormous demands of this job.”
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make,” said McCain, who has helmed the organization since 2023. “Serving this incredible organization has been the honor of a lifetime.”
She also hinted at the ongoing challenges the international aid community is facing. U.S. spending on international aid has fallen from $17.3 billion in 2022 to $3.4 billion in 2025, according to analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations.
Spending from other international governments has also been tumbling, although not as rapidly as the U.S.’ Germany’s government has reduced its humanitarian budget by 76% since 2022, while Sweden, Japan, and Canada axed theirs by 38%, 35%, and 34%, respectively, the same analysis found.
“Over the past three years, we have delivered life-saving and life-changing assistance for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people,” McCain said in her statement. “[T]his unwavering commitment will be more important than ever in the years to come,” she added.
During her tenure, McCain regularly highlighted the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, pushing back on arguments from the Israeli government that citizens have had ample food supplies. In 2024, McCain said on NBC’s Meet the Press that she believed the territory was experiencing “full-blown famine.”
McCain also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture from 2021to 2023.
The World Food Program did not immediately respond to questions from Agri-Pulse on when McCain’s last day would be, or who would step into the position in the interim.
