In less than 50 days of the presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 American Indians to key leadership positions in his administration, from his speech writer to GODMOTHER, almost all wings of government.
“Americans of Indian descent (sic) take over the country. You (Swati Mohan), my vice president (Kamala Harris), my speech writer (Vinay Reddy),” Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of Perseverance on Mars.
Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the guidance, navigation and control operations of the NASA 2020 Mars mission.
Biden, who was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, made history by appointing at least 55 Native Americans to key positions in his administration. This does not include Vice President Kamala Harris, who is an elected official, and Neera Tanden, who a day earlier withdrew her appointment as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Almost half of them are women and a considerable number of them work at the White House. So far, the Obama-Biden administration (2009-2017) has the distinction of naming the largest number of American Indians in any administration, Donald Trump’s previous administration was not long behind, as it named the first Indian- American ever with a cabinet rank and in the National Security Council.
The Biden administration first appointed such a large number of Native Americans in the first 50 days of the administration. Last week, Dr. Vivek Murthy testified before a Senate Committee on the American Surgeon General and Vanita Gupta is ready to appear at the confirmation hearing for the Associate Attorney General’s Department of Justice.
“It’s impressive to see how many Native Americans were ready to enter the public service. There have been so many additions since I launched the list of government leaders last month on President’s Day. I’m so proud to see our community go from strength to strength. ! “, said for PTI the eminent Indian-American philanthropist and founder of Indiaspora, M Rangaswami.
While the community is disappointed that Tanden had to withdraw his appointment due to harsh opposition from Republicans, Indian-American women have reached a new height in the Biden administration. Biden sought to speak with Swati Mohan, Leadership of Control and Control Operations, Mars 2020. However, she is not politically appointed.
Indian-American women named by Biden include Uzra Zeya, Undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights, State Department; Mala Adiga: Policy Director, Dr. Jill Biden; Aisha Shah: Partnership Manager, White House Office of Digital Strategy; Sameera Fazili, Deputy Director, US National Economic Council (NEC); Sumona Guha: Senior Director for South Asia at the National Security Council, White House; and Sabrina Singh: Deputy Press Secretary, White House Vice President.
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 Adviser on Climate Policy and Innovation; Office of Internal Climate Policy, White House; Neha Gupta: Associate Counselor, White House Counseling Office; and Reema Shah as Deputy Counselor, White House Counseling Office.
Tanya Das has been appointed Chief of Staff, Office of Science, Department of Energy; Shuchi Talati: Chief of Staff, Fossil Energy Bureau, Department of Energy; Mini Timmaraju: Chief Adviser to the Director, Personnel Management Office; Sohini Chatterjee: Senior Political Advisor US Mission to the United Nations, Aditi Gorur: Political 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, Department of Homeland Security; Ruchi Jain is deputy prosecutor for general law, Department of the Interior; Meera Joshi is the interim administrator, Federal Carrier Administration, Department of Transportation; Aruna Kalyanam is the Deputy Secretary for Taxes and Budget, Treasury Department.
“We are pleased that this administration reflects America’s diversity by including an unprecedented number of South Asians. The inclusion of the South Asian Biden-Harris administration in key roles of senior staff will no doubt inspire countless South Asians to aspire to public service and run for the public. This is a proud time for our community, “Neha told PTI Dewan from South Asians for Biden.
Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director in the Office of the Presidential Staff; Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Tarun Chhabra, senior director for technology and national security at the White House of the National Security Council; Vedant Patel, assistant press secretary and president of the White House, is among several other Native Americans who have held key positions in the Biden administration.