What key roles for diaspora in Biden cabinet means for Indian-American ties

US President has nominated 20 Indian-Americans, including 13 women, to key positions in his administration – a record for the community.

“This is democracy’s day, the day of history and hope. Today we celebrate a triumph, not of a candidate, but of a cause… Here’s the thing about life. There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we are called to lend a hand. That’s how it has to be. That’s what we do for one another.”

With those powerful words, Joseph Robinette Biden Junior became the 46th President of the United States of America, celebrating a bitterly-contested victory that exposed the divisive underbelly of US society and its violent aftermath.

While Biden in his speech sought to signal the return of the US to the mainstream of global geopolitics, one segment of American society that is being seen as playing a central role in enabling that is the Indian-American diaspora – which despite constituting a meagre 1.2% of the total US population, has assumed a significant dimension in the new US administration.

Footprint of Telangana in Biden speech

Biden’s moving speech itself was written by Vinay Reddy – an Indian-American with roots in Telangana – and received glowing tributes for its meticulous crafting and emphasis on the importance of democracy, unity and hope in the midst of challenging times. Reddy focused on healing from the current state of division in US politics and was effusively praised for his “calming” and “inspiring” words.

Reddy, who served as a speechwriter on the Biden-Harris Transition and was the senior adviser and speechwriter for the Biden-Harris Campaign, earlier served as chief speechwriter to Biden in the second term of the Obama-Biden White House.

But the powerful footprint of the Indian-American diaspora in Biden’s government extends far beyond his inaugural speech and is a testament to the steady course of US-India relations carrying on the momentum of the past four years.

Biden has nominated at least 20 Indian-Americans, including 13 women, to key positions in his administration, a record for the community. It is for the first time that so many Indian-Americans were named into a presidential administration ever before the inauguration.

Top positions at White House

Of them, 17 are directly part of the Biden administration in the White House and topping the list of the nominees are Neera Tanden – who has been nominated as the Director of Management and Budget – and Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated as the US Surgeon General. The list also includes three Indian-Americans nominated to the National Security Council – thus creating a permanent imprint on US foreign policy and national security. Tarun Chhabra has been named as Senior Director for Technology and National Security; Sumona Guha as Senior Director for South Asia, and Shanthi Kalathil as Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights.
Other prominent offices to be occupied by Indian-Americans include the Department of Justice – where Vanita Gupta has been nominated as Associate Attorney-General, the office of the Secretary of State – where Uzra Zeya has been named as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and Biden’s core communications team – where Sabrina Singh has been named as White House Deputy Press Secretary.

Nominations for First Lady’s office

The nominations also extend to the office of First Lady Dr Jill Biden – where Mala Adiga has been appointed as Policy Director and Garima Verma as the Digital Director of her office.

“The dedication that the Indian-American community has shown to public service over the years has been recognised in a big way at the very start of this administration. I am particularly pleased that the overwhelming majority are women. Our community has truly arrived in serving the nation,” Indiaspora founder MR Rangaswami told PTI.
In addition, Kamala Harris has already created history as the first ever Indian-origin and African-American as well as woman to be sworn in as the US Vice-President.

Carrying on the momentum

Against that backdrop, analysts say that the indications are quite clear about the Biden administration’s intentions with regards to its ties with India – which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Donald Trump built into a robust trajectory of expanding security relations and great personal bonhomie. Trump’s 2017 National Security Strategy even went on to articulate “India’s emergence as a leading global power and stronger strategic and defense partner”.

“New Delhi’s role in the region – and as the world’s most populous democracy – greatly converges with US interests, especially when it comes to ensuring free and unfettered access to the maritime commons, disaster relief, counterpiracy, and counterterrorism,” said Saba Sattar of the Institute of World Politics in Washington DC. “Under Biden, US policy toward India is expected to maintain a similar policy direction as the Trump administration did on China, albeit with an enhanced emphasis on multilateralism. Reaching a trade deal (which Trump could not), extending visa regimes (extending H-1B work visas in science and technology), and emphasizing climate change cooperation (especially after the US rejoins the Paris Agreement) would be some of the other areas of thrust for Biden’s India policy. A renewed bid for India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council may also emerge during Biden’s time in the White House,” Sattar said in a media column.

While the Biden administration will focus on a more multilateral approach to issues, even the surfacing of possible US observations on domestic Indian issues such as the abrogation of Article 370 will not deter the overall momentum of the relations, analysts said.

“As President, I will continue to rely on Indian-American diaspora that keeps our two nations together, as I have throughout my career,” Biden had said in his address to the Indian-American community during a virtual celebration of Indian Independence Day last year. With the fulfilment of that campaign promise, India-US relations are certain to hit the ground running in the coming weeks and months.

THE LIST: INDIAN-AMERICANS AMONG TEAM BIDEN

1.  Neera Tandon: Nominated as the Director of Management and Budget, a high-ranking position in the Biden administration. The 50-year-old Indian-American headed the think tank Center for American Progress.
2.  Dr Vivek Murthy: Nominated as US Surgeon General. He had previously served as the surgeon general in the Obama administration. He will also chair Biden’s COVID-19 task force.
3.  Vanita Gupta: Nominated as Associated Attorney General of Justice. She previously served as the head of the civil rights division in the Obama Administration.
4.  Uzra Zeya: Nominated as Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Right, an important position in the State Department. Zeya is of Kashmiri descent and was formerly the CEO of The Alliance for Peacebuilding.
5.  Mala Adiga: Appointed as Policy Director to First Lady Dr Jill Biden. Her family is originally from Kakkunje village in Udupi district, Karnataka.
6. Garima Verma: Named Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady. She had served on the Biden-Harris campaign as an audience development and content strategist.
7.  Sabrina Singh: Named White House Deputy Press Secretary. Previously, she had been the press secretary for Vice President Harris during the 2020 election campaign.
8.  Aisha Shah: Partnerships Manager at the White House Office of Digital Strategy. She is a Kashmiri origin Indian-American and grew up in Louisiana.
9.  Sameera Fazili: Deputy Director at the White House National Economic Council. She is of Kashmiri origin and had previously worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
10.  Bharath Ramamurti: Deputy Director of White House National Economic Council for financial reform and consumer protection. He previously served as an aide for Senator Elizabeth Warren and on her presidential campaign.
11.  Gautam Raghavan: Appointed Deputy Director in the Office of Presidential Personnel. He was previously the Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
12.  Vinay Reddy: Appointed Director of Speechwriting. He is originally from Telangana’s Karimnagar district. He is the first Indian-American to be appointed a presidential speechwriter.
13.  Vedant Patel: Assistant Press Secretary to the president. He served as a senior spokesperson on the Biden-Harris inaugural committee, and had also served on Biden’s primaries campaign.
14.  Tarun Chhabra: Senior Director for Technology and National Security.
15.  Sumona Guha: Senior Director for South Asia.
16.  Shanthi Kalathil: Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights.
17.  Sonia Aggarwal: Named Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation in the Office of the Domestic Climate Policy at the White House.
18.  Vidur Sharma: Appointed Policy Advisor for Testing for the White House COVID-19 Response Team.
19.  Neha Gupta: Appointed Associate Counsel to the Office of the White House Counsel.
20.  Reema Shah: Deputy Associate Counsel to the Office of the White House Counsel.