Biden recruits another Indian-American to top post in incoming administration

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President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced additional members of the National Economic Council (NEC), Dec. 21, 2020, including yet another Indian-American to the slate of recruits who will be part of the incoming administration.

Bharat Ramamurti was named the deputy director for the National Economic Council for Financial Reform and Consumer Protection.

Ramamurti is the managing director of the Corporate Power program at the Roosevelt Institute, a think tank, campus network, and nonprofit partner to the FDR Library.

Apart from Ramamurti, numerous other Indian-American nominees and appointees on Biden’s team include Dr. Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General; Neera Tanden as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Dr. Celine Gounder on the COVID-19 Task Force which is co-chaired by Dr. Murthy, and also has as a member, Dr. Atul Gawande of Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital;  Mala Adiga as policy director for First Lady Jill Biden; Rohini Kosoglu as domestic policy advisor to Vice President-elect Harris, Vedant Patel as assistant press secretary at the White House.

Ramamurti, who was born in Massachusetts and is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, was also appointed in April to serve on the Congressional Oversight Commission for the CARES Act by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

Previously, Ramamurti was the top economic adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren during her 2020 presidential campaign and senior counsel for banking and economic policy in her Senate office.

The National Economic Council coordinates the domestic and international economic policymaking process for the Administration, helping to design and implement the President’s economic vision for America.

Ramamurti will be under the direction of NEC Director Brian Deese.

“Working families are struggling through the deepest, most inequitable economic and jobs crisis in modern history. This is no time to build back the way things were before — this is the moment to build a new American economy that works for all,” Biden is quoted saying in the press release. “Today’s appointees have broad viewpoints on how to build a stronger and more inclusive middle class. With their robust experience and qualifications, they will provide the needed voices to guide my administration in overcoming our nation’s unprecedented economic challenges,” he added.