Trump formally nominates 3 Indian Americans to sub-Cabinet posts

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President Trump, on Jan. 20, his first day in office, sent a slew of nominations to the US Senate for sub-Cabinet posts, among them three Indian Americans who have been in the news already. Senate hearings and a Senate confirmation is needed before they can take over the offices to which they have been nominated.

The three Indian Americans nominated include:

Jayanta Bhattacharya, of California, to be Director of the National Institutes of Health, vice Monica M. Bertagnolli, resigned.

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Harmeet Dhillon, of California, to be an Assistant Attorney General, vice Kristen M. Clarke, resigned.

Kashyap Patel, of Nevada, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a term of ten years, vice Christopher A. Wray, resigned.

Jayanta Bhattacharya. PHOTO: Stanford.edu

Bhattacharya is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and at the Stanford Freeman Spogli Institute, according to his bio on the Stanford University website.

He holds courtesy appointments as Professor in Economics and in Health Research and Policy. He directs the Stanford Center on the Demography of Health and Aging.

Dr. Bhattacharya’s research focuses on the economics of health care around the world with a particular emphasis on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. His peer-reviewed research has been published in economics, statistics, legal, medical, public health, and health policy journals. He holds an MD and PhD in economics from Stanford University.

Harmeet Dhillon. PHOTO: Screenshot from header photo @dhillon law group

Dhillon, who is occasionally referred to in media as a ‘conservative culture warrior’ or even “Trump’s civil rights warrior” also publicizes her Sikh upbringing and beliefs. She has read the ardas during at least two Republican Conventions including the most recent one. A California attorney, Dhillon, 54, has risen in the Republican Party ranks to become the  National Committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California.

Born in Chandigarh, Dhillon came to the US with her parents as a 2-year old toddler. She did her higher education at Dartmouth College and University of Virginia School of Law. After moving to California, she established her private law firm in 2006. Following the terrorist attack of 9/11, Dhillon worked with the American Civil Liberties Union, to defend Sikhs harassed or discriminated against.

Kashyap Patel. PHOTO: Department of Defense

Kashyap or Kash Patel as he is more popularly referred to, is a New Yorker. According to an earlier Department of Defense bio on his, Patel, an attorney by training, served as the former Chief of Staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. Prior to that he was the Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism (CT) at the National Security Council (NSC), during President Trump’s first term. In that capacity, he  oversaw the execution of several of President Trump’s top priorities, including eliminating ISIS and Al-Qa’ida leadership such as al-Baghdadi and Qasem al-Rimi, and the safe repatriation of numerous American hostages. Patel also served as Principal Deputy to the Acting Director of National Intelligence, where he oversaw the operations of all 17 intelligence community agencies and provided the President’s Daily Briefing.

Before joining the NSC, Patel served as the National Security Advisor and Senior Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), prior to which he served as a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Patel began his career as a public defender, trying scores of complex cases ranging from murder, to narco-trafficking, to complex financial crimes in jury trials in state and federal courts. He earned his law degree in New York along with a Certificate in International Law from University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom.