President Obama pledged to restructure, empower and streamline the U.S. Agency for International Development, an agency charged with distributing economic and humanitarian aid worldwide.

After a significant delay -- one that prompted Democratic senators to ask Obama to expedite a nomination -- the White House said Rajiv Shah would be named to head USAID.

Shah already serves in the administration as undersecretary of agriculture for research, education and economics. In theory, that means his nomination should proceed more quickly than someone who needed to be vetted and approved by the Senate for the first time.

In October, U.S. senators led by Sen. Christopher Dodd called on Obama to appoint a USAID administrator as soon as possible. A Senate resolution said that "a highly capable and knowledgeable individual should be nominated with all expediency and exigency to serve as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development."

Nominating the head of USAID is a significant move that prompts us to label this promise In the Works.