Washington, March 5: Indian-Americans are taking over the country, US President Joe Biden said Thursday, referring to the large number of people in the community who are getting a place in the administration of it. .
In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 American Indians to key leadership positions in his administration, from speechwriter to NASA to nearly every branch of government.
“Americans of Indian descent (sic) are taking over the country. You (Swati Mohan), my vice president (Kamala Harris), my speechwriter (Vinay Reddy), ” Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who participated in the historic Perseverance landing on Mars.
Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the orientation, navigation and control operations of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
Biden, who was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, has created history by appointing at least 55 Indian-Americans to key positions in his administration. This does not include Vice President Kamala Harris, who is an elected official, or Neera Tanden, who a day earlier withdrew her nomination from the post of director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Almost half of them are women and a considerable number of them work in the White House. Until now, the Obama-Biden administration (2009-2017) has the distinction of appointing the largest number of Indian-Americans in any administration, the previous Donald Trump administration was not far behind, as it appointed the first Indian-American with a Cabinet rank and within the National Security Council.
The Biden administration first appointed such a large number of Indian-Americans in the first 50 days of his administration. Last week, Dr. Vivek Murthy testified before a Senate Committee of the United States Surgeon General and Vanita Gupta is set to appear for her confirmation hearing for the Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice.
‘It is impressive to see how many Indian-Americans were ready to enter public service. There have been so many additions since we released our list of government leaders last month on Presidents’ Day. I am very proud to see that our community is going from strength to strength! ”Eminent Indian-American philanthropist and founder of Indiaspora, M Rangaswami, told to news agency.
While the community is disappointed that Tanden had to withdraw her nomination due to stiff opposition from Republicans, Indian-American women have reached a new level in the Biden administration. Biden sought to speak with Swati Mohan, director of guidance and monitoring operations, Mars 2020. However, she is not a politically motivated appointee.
The Indian-American women appointed by Biden include Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Department of State; Mala Adiga: Policy Director for Dr. Jill Biden; Aisha Shah: Association Manager, White House Office of Digital Strategy; Sameera Fazili, deputy director of the National Economic Council of the United States (NEC); Sumona Guha: Senior Director for South Asia at the National Security Council, White House; and Sabrina Singh: Undersecretary of Press, Vice President of the White House.
Shanthi Kalathil has been appointed Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights, National Security Council, White House; Garima Verma has been appointed Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady; Sonia Aggarwal as Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation; Office of National Climate Policy, White House; Neha Gupta: Associate Counsel, Office of the White House Counselor; and Reema Shah as Deputy Deputy Counselor, Office of the White House Counselor.
Tanya Das has been appointed Chief of Staff, Office of Science, Department of Energy; Shuchi Talati: Chief of Staff, Office of Fossil Energy, Department of Energy; Mini Timmaraju: Senior Advisor to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management; Sohini Chatterjee: Senior Policy Advisor, US Mission to the United Nations, Aditi Gorur: Policy Advisor, US Mission to the United Nations; and Bhavya Lal is NASA’s Acting Chief of Staff.
Dimple Chaudhary has been appointed Deputy General Counsel for National Resource Protection Programs, Environmental Protection Agency; Sharmistha Das is Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security; Ruchi Jain is Deputy Attorney General for Law, Department of the Interior; Meera Joshi is the Acting Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Administration, Department of Transportation; Aruna Kalyanam is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Taxes and Budget at the Department of the Treasury.
‘We are delighted that this administration reflects the diversity of America by including an unprecedented number of South Asians. The inclusion by the Biden-Harris administration of South Asians in key senior staff positions will undoubtedly inspire countless South Asians to aspire to public service and run for public office. This is a proud moment for our community, ” Neha Dewan of South Asianns for Biden told.
Gautam Raghavan, deputy director of the Presidential Personnel Office; Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council; Tarun Chhabra, senior director of technology and national security for the White House of the National Security Council; Vedant Patel, the White House presiding deputy press secretary, is among several other Indian-Americans who have landed key positions in the Biden administration.