In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 Native Americans to key leadership positions in his administration, from his speechwriter to the NASA, on almost every wing of government.
“Americans of Indian descent (sic) take control of the country. You (Swati Mohan), my vice president (Kamala Harris), my speechwriter (Vinay Reddy),” Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of perseverance landing on Mars
Indo-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the guidance, navigation and control operations of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.
Biden, who vowed to be the 46th president of the United States on Jan. 20, has 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 the day before withdrew her appointment as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Almost half of them are women and a large number of them work in the White House. So far, the Obama-Biden administration (2009-2017) has the distinction of naming the largest number of Native Americans in any administration, the former Donald Trump administration was not far behind in designating the first American with a cabinet and within the National Security Council.
The Biden administration has for the first time appointed such a large number of Americans in the first 50 days of its administration. Last week, Dr. Vivek Murthy testified before a Senate committee for the U.S. Surgeon General and Vanita Gupta is ready to appear for her confirmation hearing for the Associate Attorney General of the Department of Justice.
“It’s impressive to see how many Indians were willing to go into the public service. There have been so many additions since we launched the list of government leaders last month on Presidents Day. I’m very proud to see our community go from force to force! ”the eminent American philanthropist and founder of Indiaspora, M Rangaswami, told PTI.
While the community is disappointed that Tanden would have to withdraw her candidacy due to harsh opposition from Republicans, Native American women have reached a new height in the Biden administration. Biden tried to speak with Swati Mohan, director of guidance and control operations, Mars 2020. However, he is not a politician.
Among the American women appointed by Biden are Uzra Zeya, Undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Department of State; Bad Adiga: Policy Director Dr. Jill Biden; Aisha Shah: Association Manager, White House Office of Digital Strategy; Sameera Fazili, deputy director of the United States National Economic Council (NEC); Sumona Guha: Senior Director for South Asia on the White House National Security Council; and Sabrina Singh: Deputy Press Secretary, White House Vice President.
Shanthi Kalathil has been appointed Coordinator of 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 a senior adviser on climate policy and innovation; Office of National Climate Policy, White House; Neha Gupta: Associate Attorney at the White House Law Office; and Reema Shah as an adjunct advisor to the White House Advisory Office.
Tanya Das has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science; Shuchi Talati: chief of staff, fossil energy office, energy department; Mini Timmaraju: Senior Advisor to the Director of the 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 interim chief of staff.
Dimple Chaudhary has been appointed Deputy General Counsel for National Resource Protection Programs, Environmental Protection Agency; Sharmistha Das is the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security; Ruchi Jain is the Deputy Attorney General of the Department of the Interior; Meera Joshi is the interim administrator of the Federal Vehicle Carrier Administration of the Department of Transportation; Aruna Kalyanam is the Deputy Deputy Secretary of Taxes and Budgets of the Treasury Department.
“We are delighted that this administration reflects the diversity of America by including an unprecedented number of South Asians. The inclusion of the Biden-Harris administration of South Asians in key senior staff roles will certainly inspire , countless South Asians aspire to public service and compete for the public This is a proud time for our community, ”South Asians’ Neha Dewan told BTI for Biden.
Gautam Raghavan, Deputy Director in the Office of Presidential Personnel; Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Tarun Chhabra, senior director of technology and national security for the White House National Security Council; Vedant Patel, deputy press secretary president of the White House, is among several other Native Americans who obtained key positions in the Biden administration.