US President Joe Biden picks Indian-American Neera Tanden as new domestic policy adviser

Tanden, who currently serves as Senior Advisor to President Biden and Staff Secretary, will be the first Asian-American to lead any of the three major White House policy councils in history

Washington: US President Joe Biden has picked Indian-American Neera Tanden to serve as Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor, following former Ambassador Susan Rice’s exit from that role.

Tanden, who currently serves as Senior Advisor to President Biden and Staff Secretary, will be the first Asian-American to lead any of the three major White House policy councils in history.

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“I am pleased to announce that Neera Tanden will continue to drive the formulation and implementation of my domestic policy, from economic mobility and racial equity to health care, immigration and education,” Biden said.

Tanden was initially nominated by Biden to head the Office of Management and Budget but her nomination was withdrawn earlier this year.

She served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as presidential campaigns and think tanks.

Most recently, Tanden was the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

“As Senior Advisor and Staff Secretary, Neera oversaw decision-making processes across my domestic, economic and national security teams. She has 25 years of experience in public policy, has served three Presidents, and led one of the largest think tanks in the country for nearly a decade,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

Tanden previously served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, working on President Barack Obama’s health reform team in the White House.

Prior to that, she was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, and served as policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

She was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and helped drive key domestic policies that became part of Biden’s agenda, including clean energy subsidies and sensible gun reform.

“While growing up, Neera relied on some of the critical programs that she will oversee as Domestic Policy Advisor, and I know those insights will serve my Administration and the American people well. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Neera in her new role,” Biden said.

She served as senior advisor to the Chancellor of the New York City Schools and also served as Associate Director for Domestic Policy in the Clinton White House and Senior Policy Advisor to the First Lady.

Tanden was named one of the “Most Influential Women in Washington” by National Journal and received the India Abroad Publisher’s Award for Excellence in 2011.

She was recognised as one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Politics”, and received her bachelor of science from UCLA and her law degree from Yale Law School.