President Joe Biden appointed a top Indian-American Democratic Party figure, Neera Tanden, as his domestic policy adviser on Friday, making her the first Asian-American to lead any of the top White House advisory councils in history.
In a statement, Biden said, “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.”
Tanden, who has served as Biden’s staff secretary in this term, will replace Susan Rice, a former American national security advisor and ambassador to the United Nations who worked as Biden’s top domestic policy advisor since his presidency began.
Biden said that as his staff secretary — a role in which she processed all the paperwork that landed on the President’s desk — Tanden had overseen decision-making processes across 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. She was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and helped drive key domestic policies that became part of my agenda, including clean energy subsidies and sensible gun reform,” Biden said in his statement.
Saying that Tanden, while growing up, had relied on some of the same programmes she will now oversee, Biden said that her insights will serve his administration and the American people well.
Tanden was born in Massachusetts to Indian immigrant parents, and studied at the University of California Los Angeles and Yale University. Her appointment is particularly significant as America heads towards elections in 2024, where domestic policy will be a key area of focus and contestation. The Biden White House also faces a more immediate challenge from a Republican-dominated House on the debt ceiling, with the Republicans asking for drastic spending cuts in return for a compromise on debt ceiling. Tanden, a strong advocate of social security and health care programmes, is expected to strongly argue against cuts, a position that aligns with Biden’s public statements on the issue.
Tanden’s appointment is one more symbol of the rise of Indian-Americans in American politics. The Biden White House, in particular, has been inclusive and diverse of the various ethnicities that make up America. Among other Indian-Americans who serve Biden are the President’s chief speechwriter, Vinay Reddy, and his Covid-19 advisor, Ashish Jha.
Tanden has served as the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. In the Barack Obama administration, she served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services. This was the time when Obama passed his signature health care legislation.
Tanden also worked as the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, and, before that, as the policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Tanden has been a close Hillary Clinton aide, also serving as her senior policy advisor when she was the First Lady. She also helped run Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2000 and served as her legislative director in the Senate.
Biden had first tapped Tanden to be his director for the Office of Management and Budget. But when her nomination ran into trouble with the Senate, due to her fierce criticism of Republicans on Twitter, Biden appointed her as his staff secretary, a role that did not require Senate confirmation.
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