US President Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Neela Tanden as his assistant and domestic policy adviser following the departure of former Ambassador Susan Rice.
Now a senior adviser and secretary to President Biden, Tanden will be the first Asian-American to head one of the White House’s three major policy councils.
“I am pleased to announce that Neela Tanden will continue to drive the development and implementation of my domestic policies, from economic mobility and racial equality to healthcare, immigration and education,” Biden said. Stated.
Tanda was originally nominated by Biden to head the Office of Management and Budget, but withdrew the nomination earlier this year.
She has served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as presidential campaigns and think tanks.
Most recently, Tanden served as president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
“As Senior Advisor and Secretary, Neela oversaw the decision-making process across my domestic, economic and national security teams. I headed one of the largest think tanks for nearly a decade,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.
Tanden previously served as Senior Advisor on Health Reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and worked on President Barack Obama’s Health Reform team at the White House.
Prior to that, he was the head of domestic policy for the Obama and Biden presidential campaigns and the policy head for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
She was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and helped advance key domestic policies that became part of Biden’s agenda, including clean energy subsidies and smart gun reform.
“While growing up, Neela relied on some of the key programs I oversaw as a domestic policy advisor, and I know those insights will benefit my administration and the American people. It’s a role,” Biden said.
She has served as Senior Advisor to the President of the City of New York Schools and has also served as Deputy Director for Domestic Policy at the Clinton White House and Senior Policy Advisor to the First Lady.
Tanden was named one of the “Most Influential Women in Washington” by the National Journal and won the Overseas Indian Publishers Award in 2011.
Recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Politics,” she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA and a Law degree from Yale Law School.
