NRI
3 Indian Americans to Take Key Positions in US Govt
Indian Americans are the most prominent ethnic minority in President Donald Trump’s largely white, male administration.
The United States Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of three Indian-Americans to important positions in the government on Thursday. The Senate confirmed Neil Chatterjee as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while Vishal Amin will be the Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement Coordinator in the Trump administration. Krishna Urs will serve as the US ambassador to Peru.
Neil Chatterjee
The American lawyer and political advisor will hold a key administration position in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees America’s power grid and takes decisions on the energy projects in the country. Chatterjee, 40, will be a FERC member for the term expiring June 30, 2021. He has been an adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, and Powelson a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Chatterjee, who was born in Lexington, Kentucky, graduated from St Lawrence University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He began his career with the House Committee on Ways and Means in Washington, DC.
Vishal Amin
Amin was until now a senior counsel on House Judiciary Committee, and replaces Daniel Marti as the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in the executive office of the President. As the ‘IP Czar’, he will coordinate the country’s law-enforcement strategy around copyright, patents and trademarks. A graduate in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, and law from Washington University School of Law, Amin served in the administration of George W. Bush as the White House’s associate director for domestic policy and as special assistant and associate director for policy in the United States Department of Commerce.
Krishna Urs
With a career as a diplomat spanning over 31 years, Urs has served in various positions in foreign service since 1986. He is the second Indian-American – after Nikki Haley, who is the US ambassador to the United Nations – to have been selected for an ambassadorial position by the Trump administration. Urs is currently the charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Madrid, where he was earlier the deputy of mission. A 1980 graduate of Georgetown University, where he studied Latin American politics and economics at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, he pursued post graduation at the University of Texas in economics.
