Trump nominates 3 Indian Americans to key administration posts

Washington, January 17

US President Donald Trump has nominated three Indian Americans to key administration positions, as per the latest list of senior nominations sent by the White House to the Senate.

Rita Baranwal has been nominated for the post of assistant secretary of Energy (Nuclear Energy), Aditya Bamzai for Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and Bimal Patel as the assistant secretary of Treasury.

The intent to nominate Baranwal, Bamzai and Patel was announced by Trump earlier, but the nomination was sent to the Senate on Wednesday.

So far, Trump has nominated or appointed more than three dozen Indian Americans in key positions.

Nikki Haley, the first cabinet-ranking Indian American and Raj Shah, the first Indian American deputy Press Secretary, have left the Trump administration.

Baranwal holds the post of Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative. 

If confirmed by the Senate, as assistant secretary of Energy Baranwal will be heading the powerful Office of Nuclear Energy. She will also be responsible for the department’s nuclear technology research and the development and management of the department’s nuclear technology infrastructure.

Baranwal previously served as director of the Technology Development and Application at Westinghouse and was a manager in Materials Technology at Bechtel Bettis, where she led research and development in nuclear fuel materials for US naval reactors.

A Yale graduate, Bamzai teaches and writes about civil procedure, administrative law, federal courts, national security law and computer crime.

He has earlier served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court and to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Before entering the academy, Bamzai served as an attorney-adviser in the Office of legal counsel of the US Department of Justice, and as an appellate attorney in both private practice and for the National Security Division of the justice department.

Patel currently serves as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Prior to joining the United States Department of the Treasury, Patel was a partner and head of the Financial Advisory and Regulation practice in Washington, DC, office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, the White House said.

Patel previously served as senior advisor to Director Jeremiah O Norton on the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

He also served as an adjunct associate professor at Stanford University, teaching an undergraduate course on banking regulation. PTI