Tuesday marked the beginning of the 118th Congress with the swearing-in of senators and the beginning of the election process for the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Washington: US President Joe Biden has renominated at least six Indian Americans for important administrative positions that were vacant after the Senate failed to confirm them during the last Congress.
Tuesday marked the beginning of the 118th Congress with the swearing-in of senators and the beginning of the election process for the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
Richard Verma (54), to serve as the deputy secretary of state for management and resources, and Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy (45), to represent the United States on the executive board of the World Health Organization, were two of the individuals Biden nominated again and forwarded to the Senate.
From January 16, 2015, to January 20, 2017, Verma represented the United States as ambassador to India. He is presently Mastercard’s chief legal officer and head of global public policy.
As the nation’s 21st Surgeon General, Murthy was appointed by the US Senate in March 2021. He previously worked for former President Barack Obama as the 19th Surgeon General.
In addition, Biden renominated Geeta Rao Gupta to be an Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues, Radha Iyengar Plumb to be a Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Anjali Chaturvedi to be General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Ravi Chaudhary to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.
Biden proposed candidates for each of these important administrative posts during the previous Congress, but the Senate did not confirm any of them.
Since his time as a senator, Biden has maintained a tight connection with the Indian community and frequently makes light of it. By choosing Indian-born Kamala Harris as his running partner in 2020, he created history.
There would only be a small number of meetings held in the White House or in Vice President Biden’s Oval Office, according to Indiaspora’s roster of Indian-Americans in the administration.
