WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Associated Attorney General Vanita Gupta will leave the Department of Justice at the beginning of February, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced on Thursday, December 21.
“I am deeply grateful to Vanita for her extraordinary service as Associate Attorney General. Vanita’s commitment to the pursuit of justice, and her relentless focus on bringing people together to find common ground, has made her an incredibly effective leader in dealing with some of the most complex challenges facing the American people,” Garland said in a press release. “She has distinguished herself as the kind of leader who is also a partner to the career and non-career employees who work for her, to the stakeholders the Department works with, and to the public we all work for.”
Gupta, 49, has been serving in the number three position at the Justice Department since April 2021.
The seasoned civil rights lawyer is responsible for managing civil litigation under the guidance of Garland. Her portfolio encompasses various areas within the Justice Department, including civil rights, antitrust, environmental divisions, and the administration of over $5 billion in federal grants for public safety and criminal justice.
In 2022, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down federal protections for abortion access, Garland entrusted Gupta with the leadership of a Justice Department reproductive rights task force. Under her leadership, federal authorities took legal action against Idaho for a restrictive abortion law and intensified prosecutions of antiabortion activists accused of impeding access to reproductive clinics.
“As a trusted advisor and key member of the Department’s leadership team charged with overseeing all of our civil litigating components and grantmaking entities, Vanita has played an essential role in our work to fulfill DOJ’s mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights,” a report said on Thursday. “Among her many accomplishments during her tenure, Vanita stood up and has led the Department’s Reproductive Rights Taskforce to defend the reproductive freedoms that are protected by federal law.” The attorney general said Gupta has “played an integral role” in the department’s “efforts to combat violent crime and gun violence and to support the victims of crime” and has facilitated its “efforts to advance a criminal justice system that keeps people safe and reflects our values.”
A report said that the Indian American “has prioritized work that centers its impact on people.” He added, “We at the Justice Department will dearly miss our colleague and friend, but I am confident that her enormous contributions to the Department will continue to be felt long after her departure.”
An alumnus of Yale University and New York University School of Law, Gupta has had a stellar career as a civil rights attorney and Justice Department official. Commencing her journey with two prominent civil and human rights organizations, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense & Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she tackled significant cases. Notably, one of her initial victories involved arguing against the wrongful drug convictions of 38 African American individuals in Tulia, Texas, by all-white juries.
During her tenure at the ACLU, Gupta spearheaded the Smart Justice Campaign, dedicated to ending mass incarceration.
Tag: Vanita Gupta
-
Indian American AAG Vanita Gupta to step down from DOJ
-
Celebrating US Independence Day 2021
Ashook Ramsaran, President, Indian Diaspora Council International (IDC), New York The Indian Diaspora Council International (IDC) congratulates the people of United States of America (USA) on the 245thanniversary of the Declaration of Independence and conveys its best wishes for continuing progress in championing the cause of freedom, justice and liberty throughout the world. Despite recent setbacks due to the devastation effects of Covid-19, widespread protests to achieve racial and economic inequities, many attacks on Asians in America, and perpetuating misinformation leading to ideological disputes in some segments of society, America and its institutions remain strong and resilient as a progressive nation.
We are grateful for the enormous sacrifices made for the hard fought independence of USA and the continuing diligence and determination to maintain and advance freedom and liberty which universally endear the USA as a beacon of hope, freedom and refuge for the persecuted and downtrodden. USA’s struggle for independence and promoting freedom exemplify the indomitable human spirit to choose and make decisions for “the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness”, and has inspired nations, racially diverse and ethnic groups and individuals to advance their own struggles for freedom. The USA strives to be introspective and adapt to changing times and recognition of past injustices to better serve the needs of its citizens with established institutions and processes for social justice.
The celebration of USA independence is also of historic significance to the rapidly growing Indian American community who have benefited enormously from the Luce-Celler Immigration Act of 1946 signed into law on 3rd July 1946 by President Harry Truman granting naturalization rights to Filipinos and Asian Indians. The Immigration Act of 1946 also “allowed Filipino Americans and Indian Americans to naturalize and become United States citizens”. Upon becoming US citizens, the new Americans could own homes and farmland, and petition for family unification. This reversed the Naturalization Act of 1870 which had denied Asians the right to gain US citizenship.
The 2020 election of Indian origin Kamala Harris as Vice President, and the appointments of the Vivek Murthy as US Surgeon General and Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General, as well as many others in prominent positions, reflect the changing demographics and the diversity of America as well as the rapid strides that Indian Americans are making in the political landscape.
-
Vanita Gupta scripts history as first Indian-American US associate attorney general
WASHINGTON (TIP): Prominent Indian-American civil rights lawyer Vanita Gupta has been confirmed by the US Senate as associate attorney general, making her the first person of color to occupy the third highest position at the Department of Justice. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski broke away from her party colleagues to support Gupta (46), giving the Democrats 51 votes to see her through the historic confirmation on Wednesday, April 21. The Senate voted 51-49 to confirm Gupta. Vice President Kamala Harris was present in the Senate to cast her vote in case of a tie. The two parties have 50 members each in the 100-seat United States Senate. “Congratulations to Vanita Gupta on making history as the first woman of color to serve as associate attorney general. Now, I urge the Senate to confirm Kristen Clarke. Both are eminently qualified, highly respected lawyers who are dedicated to advancing racial equity and justice,” President Joe Biden said. Gupta is also the first civil rights lawyer to serve at one of the top three positions at the Department of Justice.
Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, who played a key role in her confirmation, said Gupta is the first-ever woman of color and civil rights attorney to serve in the role. “She will bring a long overdue perspective to our federal law enforcement agency,” he said. The daughter of Indian immigrants who was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Gupta has had an illustrious career of fighting for civil rights. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and Juris Doctor from New York University. At the age of 28, she started her career at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund where she successfully overturned the wrongful drug convictions of 38 Black Americans in Tulia, Texas. While at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), she fought to end mass incarceration and secured a landmark settlement against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on behalf of immigrant children that led to the end of family detention at the facility. From 2014 to 2017, Gupta served as the assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Barack Obama, where she advanced criminal justice reform, prosecuted hate crimes, protected voting rights and fought against discrimination.
Indian-American groups congratulated Gupta on her historic confirmation.
(With inputs from PTI)
-
US Senate to Vote on Indian American Lawyer Vanita Gupta’s Nomination to Serve as Associate Attorney General
WASHINGTON (TIP): The US Senate would go through a rare procedure to discharge a nomination from the judiciary committee for Indian American lawyer Vanita Gupta to serve as Associate Attorney General, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday, April 15.
If confirmed, Ms. Gupta, 46, would be the first woman of color to serve as Associate Attorney General, which is the third-ranking official at the powerful Department of Justice.
Senate Majority Leader senator Chuck Schumer had to file this rare motion of discharge because the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 25 voted her nomination 11-11. The discharge motion would allow a full Senate vote on her nomination. “This afternoon, the Senate will need to go through a rare procedure to discharge a nomination from the Judiciary Committee… Miss Vanita Gupta to serve as Associate Attorney General,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “The daughter of immigrants from India, Miss Gupta is the first woman of color to ever be nominated for Associate Attorney General, the third-ranking official at the Department of Justice. Her public track record is nothing short of exemplary,” Schumer said before a bitterly divided Senate. Given that the 100-member Senate is equally divided among Republicans and the Democrats with 50 seats each, the ruling party now depends on Vice President Kamala Harris to break the tie in favor of Ms. Gupta.
Later in the day, Schumer is expected to make a motion to proceed to Executive Session in order to move to discharge the nomination of Gupta to be Associate Attorney General from the Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote relative to that motion.
There will then be up to four hours of debate on the motion to discharge the Gupta nomination from the Committee on the Judiciary. The Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to discharge the Gupta nomination from the Committee on the Judiciary.
Schumer said Ms. Gupta will make an outstanding Associate Attorney General. The Senate should discharge her nomination from the Judiciary Committee this afternoon, he said.
“In her very first case after law school, Ms. Gupta won the release of several African-Americans who had been wrongly convicted by all-white juries in Texas, clients who eventually won a pardon from Texas Governor Rick Perry. She continued her work at the ACLU, where she launched a bipartisan criminal justice reform effort, before going on to lead the civil rights division of the Justice Department under President Obama,” the senator said. Schumer rued that despite her sterling credentials, some Republicans on the Judiciary Committee would have them believe that Ms. Gupta is some hair-raising, left-wing radical. “In her hearing, Gupta was unfortunately subjected to a mind-numbingly repetitious line of questioning about whether or not she supports the police or wants to decriminalize all drugs. A conservative judicial organization launched a national ad campaign to smear her nomination. It was disgraceful,” Schumer said.
In a statement, Wade Henderson – interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights urged the Senate to confirm the nomination of Gupta. “Vanita Gupta is exactly the leader we need in this role at this critical moment for our country. Now is not the time for baseless and harmful partisan tactics. With broad support that crosses ideological divides, Gupta is a consensus builder who will bring vital civil rights and racial justice experience to the Justice Department. The country needs Ms. Gupta and her experience in this important role now, and the Senate must take swift and immediate action to confirm her,” Henderson added.
-
Twenty Indian Americans Nominated for Key Roles in Biden-Harris Administration
WASHINGTON (TIP): Just before the historic inauguration, US President-elect Joe Biden has either nominated or named at least 20 Indian Americans, including 13 women, to key positions in his administration, a new record in itself for this small ethnic community that constitutes one per cent of the country’s population. As many as 17 of them would be part of the powerful White House complex.
The January 20th inauguration, the 59th in all, wherein Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States is already historic in the making as for the first time ever a woman Kamala Harris would be sworn as the vice president of the country.
Harris, 56, is also the first ever Indian-origin and African American to be sworn in as the Vice president of the United States.
It is also for the first time ever that so many Indian Americans have been roped into a presidential administration ever before the inauguration. Biden is still quite far away from filling all the positions in his administration.
Topping the list is Neera Tanden, who has been nominated as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and Dr Vivek Murthy, who has been nominated as the US Surgeon General.
Vanita Gupta has been nominated as Associate Attorney General Department of Justice, and on Saturday, Biden nominated a former foreign service official Uzra Zeya as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.
“The dedication that the Indian American community has shown to public service over the years has been recognized in a big way at the very start of this administration! I am particularly pleased that the overwhelming majority are women. Our community has truly arrived in serving the nation,” Indiaspora founder M R Rangaswami told media. Mala Adiga has been appointed as Policy Director to the future First Lady Dr Jill Biden and Garima Verma would be the Digital Director of the Office of the First Lady, while Sabrina Singh has been named as her Deputy Press Secretary.
For the first time ever among the Indian Americans include two who trace their roots to Kashmir: Aisha Shah, who has been named as Partnership Manager at the White House Office of Digital Strategy, and Sameera Fazili, who would occupy the key position of Deputy Director at the US National Economic Council (NEC) in the White House.
White House National Economic Council also has another Indian American, Bharat Ramamurti, as Deputy Director.
Gautam Raghavan, who served at the White House in the previous Obama Administration returns to the White House as Deputy Director in Office of Presidential Personnel.
Among Biden’s inner circle is his top confident for year Vinay Reddy, who has been named as Director Speechwriting.
Young Vedant Patel all set to occupy a seat in the White House lower press, behind the briefing room, as Assistant Press Secretary to the President. He is only the third-ever Indian American to be part of the White House press shop.
Three Indian Americans have made their way to the crucial National Security Council of the White House, thus leaving a permanent imprint on the country’s foreign policy and national security.
They are Tarun Chhabra: Senior Director for Technology and National Security, Sumona Guha, Senior Director for South Asia, Shanthi Kalathil: Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights.
Sonia Aggarwal has been named Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation in the Office of the Domestic Climate Policy at the White House and Vidur Sharma has been appointed as Policy Advisor for Testing for the White House COVID-19 Response Team.
Two Indian Americans women have been appointed to the Office of the White House Counsel: Neha Gupta as Associate Counsel and Reema Shah as Deputy Associate Counsel.
Also, for the first time in any administration, the White House would have three other South Asians in key positions. Pakistani American Ali Zaidi as Deputy National Climate Advisor White House; Sri Lankan American Rohini Kosoglu as Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President and Bangladeshi American Zayn Siddique: Senior Advisor to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
During the campaign, Biden had indicated that he would rope in a large number of Indian Americans.
“As President, I’ll also continue to rely on Indian American diaspora, that keeps our two nations together, as I have throughout my career,” Biden had said in his address to the Indian American community during a virtual celebration of India’s Independence Day on August 15, 2020.
“My constituents in Delaware, my staff in the Senate, the Obama Biden administration, which had more Indian Americans than any other administration in the history of this country and this campaign with Indian Americans at senior levels, which of course includes the top of the heap, our dear friend (Kamala Harris) who will be the first Indian American vice president in the history of the United States of America,” Biden said in his video address.
-
Indian Americans in the incoming Biden administration
Jaskiran SalujaNEW YORK (TIP): Joe Biden-Kamala Harris team has nominated a number of Indian Americans to positions in their administration. It is a common knowledge that Indian Americans have excelled in every field. They are CEOs of top Corporations, distinguished professionals and academics, besides doing very well in businesses. In politics, too, they have announced their arrival in a big way. Their administrative acumen is also well recognized.
Here are some Indians Americans whose nominations have already been announced. It is believed, many more Indian Americans will soon be joining the incoming Biden-Harris administration.
- Neera Tanden
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
President-elect Joe Biden nominated Neera Tanden to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget on November 30, 2020. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would make history becoming both the first woman of color and the first South Asian American to lead the OMB.
Born in 1970 in Bedford, Massachusetts, obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1992, and a law degree from Yale Law School in 1996.
She worked for the campaign of President Bill Clinton, who was seeking reelection that year. The following year, she landed a job at the White House press office. Later, Tanden joined the White House domestic policy office as an associate director.
In 2000, she served as a policy director and deputy campaign manager for former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s victorious senatorial bid from New York. She went on to work for the newly elected senator as a legislative director from 2003 to 2005. During Clinton’s first presidential run in 2008, Tanden served as a policy director, and in the general election campaign, she worked for Barack Obama as domestic policy director.In the first Obama administration, Tanden was one of the point persons on the Affordable Care Act, as a senior advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
In 2010, she joined the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, as the chief operating officer. In November 2011, she succeeded John Podesta as the organization’s President and CEO.
- Vivek Murthy
Surgeon General of the United States
Vivek Murthy was nominated as the next US Surgeon General, a role he previously held during the Obama administration, by President-elect Joe Biden on December 7, 2020. Currently serving as a member of Biden’s team, as co-chair of the COVID task force, Murthy will reprise the role he held from 2014-2017, albeit with more responsibility.
If confirmed, this time around Murthy will be a part of a team responsible for responding to the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 280,000 Americans and hospitalized millions more.
Murthy could face difficulty in receiving a confirmation from the senate however, given the opposition he faced during his Senate confirmation process in 2014.
Born in England to Indian immigrants, Murthy was raised in Miami after his parents moved to the US to establish their medical practice. After earning his BA in biochemical sciences and graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1997, Murthy received his MD from Yale School of Medicine and his MBA from Yale School of Management. As an 18-year-old freshman at Harvard, Murthy co-founded VISIONS Worldwide, a non-profit organization aimed to raise HIV/AIDs education in the US and India, with his sister Rashmi.
- Vanita Gupta
Associate Attorney General
If confirmed by the Senate, Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve in the role of associate attorney general
Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, as he announced some of the key nominations in the Justice Department on Thursday, January 8, “As associate attorney general, the number three job at the department, I nominate Vanita Gupta. A woman I’ve known for some time. One of the most respected civil rights lawyers in America”.
Gupta started her career at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She then went on to the ACLU and then to the Justice Department during the Obama-Biden administration, where she led the civil rights division, Biden said.
“At every step, with every case, she fought for greater equity and the right to right the wrongs of a justice system where they existed,” he said.
She has done so by bringing people together, earning praise from across the ideological spectrum for her approach to solving some of the thorniest problems the country faces, he added. During the Obama-Biden administration, Gupta was put in charge of investigating the abuse of power in police departments in Ferguson, Missouri and other communities torn apart by acts of violence and racial injustice.
- Bharat Ramamurti
Deputy Director of the National Economic Council
Bharat Ramamurti was nominated as the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) by President-elect Joe Biden on Dec. 21, 2020.
He is currently the Managing Director (MD) of the Corporate Power program at the Roosevelt Institute. Ramamurti previously worked as the top economic advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren during her 2020 presidential campaign.
“I’m honored to be joining the Biden-Harris administration as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. We have much to do to get through this crisis and create a stronger and fairer economy — and I’m excited to get to work alongside this great team,” he tweeted.
He will also be working with Biden-picks Joelle Gamble and David Kamin on the National Economic Council.
After earning his bachelor’s from Harvard College, Ramamurti received his JD from Yale Law School. He then worked as an intern for the Boston Red Sox’s legal department.
Ramamurti currently lives in Boston with his wife and child.
- Vedant Patel
Assistant Press Secretary
Before being named as Assistant Press Secretary, Vedant Patel served as a senior spokesperson of the Biden Presidential Inaugural Committee. During the 2020 general election campaign, he was the Regional Communications Director for the Democratic nominee. During primary campaign, he served as the Nevada and Western Primary-States Communications Director for Biden. Patel has also worked as Communications Director to Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Western Regional Press Secretary at the Democratic National Committee, and Communications Director to former Rep. Mike Honda. Born in Gujarat, India and raised in California, Patel is a graduate of the University of California-Riverside and the University of Florida.
- Vinay Reddy
Director of speechwriting
Before being named as director of Speechwriting, Vinay Reddy served as a Senior Advisor and Speechwriter for the Biden-Harris campaign. During President Obama’s second term, Reddy served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Biden.
Reddy played several roles during the Obama administration, having served as both senior speechwriter at the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services, and as deputy speechwriter for the Obama reelection campaign.
Reddy, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio, also worked as a speechwriter for the Buckeye State Sen. Sherrod Brown.
After leaving the White House, he worked as Vice President of Strategic Communications for the NBA.
Reddy, second of three sons of Indian American parents, studied in Ohio’s public schools from kindergarten through law school. He is an alumnus of Miami University and the Ohio State University College of Law. He currently lives in New York with his wife and their two daughters.
7.Gautam Raghavan
Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential PersonnelGautam Raghavan is a trailblazing Indian American who has served in multiple positions at the White House and on Capitol Hill in the past decade. Prior to being named as the Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel, he worked as the Deputy Head of Presidential Appointments on the Biden’s transition team. Raghavan is one of a number of Obama officials tapped by Biden who has worked with the president-elect. Before joining the Biden transition last year, Raghavan served as Chief of Staff to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, for roughly two years.
Before that, he was the founding executive director of Indian American Impact Fund, a political advocacy group that encourages and support members of the community that run for elected offices across the country.
Like many Biden officials, Raghavan also has experience working with the president-elect, having served as an Advisor to the Biden Foundation.
Raghavan also worked as the Policy Director of the Gill Foundation, based in Denver, Colorado, one of the oldest and largest private foundations dedicated to the cause of LGBTQ equality.
From 2011 to 2014, Raghavan served in the Obama White House as the president’s liaison to the LGBTQ and the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. He was the first openly gay Indian American official in the Obama administration.
He also served in the White House Liaison Office for the US Department of Defense and as Outreach Lead for the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Working Group.
- Mala Adiga
Policy director Jill Biden
Mala Adiga has been named the policy director to the would-be First Lady Jill Biden in November 2020. Previously, she served as a senior advisor to Dr. Jill Biden, and as one on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Adiga has also served as the Director for Higher Education and Military Families at the Biden Foundation.
During the Obama administration, Adiga served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She also served as both Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large and as Director for Human Rights on the National Security Staff.
Prior to that, she was Counsel to the Associate Attorney General in the Department of Justice. Before entering government service, Adiga worked on the 2008 Obama presidential campaign.
Adiga was a litigation associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago and clerked for US District Court Judge Philip Simon in the Northern District of Indiana before joining the campaign.
Adiga, whose parents are from Udupi in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, grew up in Illinois. She is a graduate of Grinnell College, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and the University of Chicago Law School.
Adiga’s father Dr. Ramesh Adiga, who is the second among three siblings, came to the United States at the age of 25 to hone his skills as a vascular surgeon. Mala’s mother Jaya Adiga had studied medicine in Vellore.
- Aisha Shah
Partnerships Manager, White House Office of Digital Strategy
Aisha Shah, who was born in Kashmir and raised in Louisiana, has been named as a Partnerships Manager in the 12-member White House Office of Digital Strategy. Shah, an Advancement Specialist for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, previously served as a Digital Partnerships Manager for the Biden campaign. Her previous stints include working as an Assistant Manager on the Corporate Fund of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and serving as a Strategic Communications Specialist at Buoy, an integrated marketing firm that specializes in social impact communications. She is a graduate of Davidson College.
- Neera Tanden