Indian-American Neera Tanden has been appointed senior adviser to US President Joe Biden. She will join her post in the White House on Monday, 17 May,
The 50-year-old will be in charge of launching a review of the US Digital Service, and plan contingencies that could result from the Supreme Court’s consideration of Republican lawsuits seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act, as per PTI.
Tanden was born on 10 September 1970, in Bedford, Massachusetts, to immigrant parents from India. She has an elder brother Raj. Tanden pursued a bachelor of science degree at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a law degree at the Ivy League Yale Law School.
Tanden is a long-time aide to former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. She is the President and CEO of Center for American Progress (CAP), a progressive think tank where she worked on many policy decisions such as Affordable Care Act, climate change and others over the years.
“Neera’s intellect, tenacity, and political savvy will be an asset to the Biden administration,” CAP founder and director John Podesta said, as per PTI.
This move comes two months after withdrawing her nomination as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, – a crucial department responsible for managing the upcoming administration’s budget over protests by Republicans.
Tanden had apologised for her controversial social media comments criticising Senators during her confirmation hearings before the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but she still faced a lot of resistance during her nomination, after which she withdrew.
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