Days into new job, USAID chief tackles Haiti earthquake response

By The Post's Philip Rucker:

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah (AP)

Five days after being sworn into his new job, Rajiv Shah found himself in the White House Situation Room, seated four chairs from President Obama, and overseeing the U.S. government's response to the earthquake that has devastated Haiti.

As Obama's designated "unified disaster coordinator," the 36-year-old doctor has been working furiously to deploy relief workers, brief Cabinet secretaries and serve as a public spokesman for the administration's rescue and recovery efforts -- all while on just a few hours of sleep and an untold number of Diet Cokes.

Shah, the newly minted USAID administrator, has wowed the White House and State Department in his maiden turn in the spotlight, with top officials in both departments praising his steady leadership and command of the evolving operations in Port-au-Prince.

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