Three Indian-Americans to Lead Biden-Harris Transition Team

To ensure that the incoming Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration hits “the ground running on Day One,” a 500-member transition team, including more than 20 Indian Americans, has been set up to put America “back in the game", according to reports.

Biden rolled out several agency review teams (ARTs) with at least three Indian Americans as leads, days after he named former surgeon general Vivek Murthy to co-chair a task force to address the critical coronavirus pandemic issue under his administration.

Arun Majumdar of Stanford University will head the Department of Energy transition team; Rahul Gupta of March of Dimes will head the Office of National Drug Policy team, and Kiran Ahuja of Philanthropy Northwest will head Office of Personnel Management team.

The Biden transition team said the ARTs have been rolled out “to ensure a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and their cabinet to hit the ground running on Day One.”

There are at least 20 other Indian Americans in ARTs relating to the Departments of State, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, and the Federal Reserve.

The transition team also disclosed that during calls from several foreign leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Biden told them that “America is going to be back. We’re going to be back in the game.”

Biden’s transition team said this is one of the most diverse agency review teams in presidential transition history.

More than half of the review team members are women, and approximately 40 percent represent communities historically underrepresented in the federal government, including people of colour, people who identify as LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities.

“Our nation is grappling with a pandemic, an economic crisis, urgent calls for racial justice, and the existential threat of climate change,” said Senator Ted Kaufman, Co-Chair, Biden-Harris Transition.

“We must be prepared for a seamless transfer of knowledge to the incoming administration to protect our interests at home and abroad. The agency review process will help lay the foundation for meeting these challenges on Day One.”

Senator Ted Kaufman, Co-Chair, Biden-Harris Transition

“The work of the agency review teams is critical for protecting national security, addressing the ongoing public health crisis, and demonstrating that America remains the beacon of democracy for the world,” Kaufman said.

This announcement came in even as incumbent President Donald Trump has declined to concede the election and the General Services Administration has so far denied access to the President-elect’s transition team.