Washington DC: In the administration of US President Joe Biden, more than 130 Indian-Americans have been appointed to key positions so far. Indians have a huge footprint across America not only in terms of the social and economic sphere but also in bureaucracy and diplomacy.
Indians’ achievements are remarkable given the fact they just form one percent of the USA’s population. The dominance of Indian-Americans in bureaucracy has surprised everyone.
Biden fulfilled his promise to the community during his campaign for presidential elections in 2020. This is way beyond the Donald Trump administration appointing around 80 Indian-Americans.
Barack Obama had appointed more than 60 Indian-Americans to key positions during his eight-year presidency. This time, 40 Indian-Americans have been elected to various Legislative bodies at the State and federal levels, including four to the US House of Representatives.
Biden has appointed Indian-Americans to almost all departments and agencies in his administration.
A list of Indian-Americans in the White House compiled by the Indian community reflects that there will be few meetings inside the White House or in Biden’s Oval Office that do not have an Indian-American presence.
Biden’s speech writer is Vinay Reddy, while his key advisor on Corona is Dr. Ashish Jha, his adviser on environmental policy is Sonia Aggarwal, special assistant on criminal justice is Chirag Bains. Kiran Ahuja is the head of the Office of Personnel Management, Neera Tanden is President’s senior advisor, and Rahul Gupta is his director of drug policy.
The young Vedant Patel is now the Deputy Spokesperson at the State Department, while Grima Verma is the Digital Director in the Office of the First Lady. Joe Biden has also nominated several Indian-Americans to key ambassadorial posts.
