Is Juster US’ Next India Envoy? Confirmation Hearing Next Week

The position has been lying vacant since 20 January when Trump was sworn in as the president.

The confirmation hearing of Kenneth Ian Juster for the post of US Ambassador to India will be held on 3 October, a Senate committee has said.

The scheduling of confirmation hearing by Senate Foreign Relations Committee comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump nominated Juster, 62, as his top envoy to India. Juster is a top economic aide and one of the key architects of the historic Indo-US civil nuclear agreement, to be the next US ambassador to India.

Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would preside the hearing at the Senate Dirksen building on 3 October.

In June, the White House had said that Juster, 62, will be America's new ambassador to India. The position has been lying vacant since 20 January when Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States.

Juster has been the Deputy Assistant to the US president for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of his National Economic Council.

He has previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001-2005, Counselor (acting) of the State Department from 1992-1993, and deputy and senior adviser to the Deputy Secretary of State from 1989-1992.

In the private sector, he has been a partner at the investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC, Executive Vice President at Salesforce.com, and senior partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter.

He has also served as Chairman of Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and as Vice Chairman of The Asia Foundation.

Juster holds a law degree from the Harvard Law School, a master's degree in Public Policy from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a bachelor's degree in Government from Harvard College.