Indian-American Neera Tanden to serve as Joe Biden’s Domestic Policy Adviser

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

Washington, May 06, 2023: US President Joe Biden on Friday announced that Indian-American Neera Tanden will serve as the next head of his domestic policy council, replacing outgoing adviser Susan Rice.

 

"For over two years, Susan Rice has helped craft and implement my domestic policy agenda and our country owes a debt of gratitude for her history-making public service. I am pleased to announce that Neera Tanden will continue to drive the formulation and implementation of my domestic policy, from economic mobility and racial equity to health care, immigration and education," read Biden’s statement.

Ms Tanden will be the first Asian-American to lead any of the three major White House policy councils in history.

Ms Tanden, who previously served as assistant to the president and staff secretary, will be replaced by Stefanie Feldman. Feldman, a longtime Biden adviser, is deputy assistant to the president and senior adviser to the White House domestic policy adviser.

As Senior Advisor and Staff Secretary, Neera oversaw decision-making processes across US’s domestic, economic and national security teams. She has 25 years of experience in public policy, has served three Presidents, and led one of the largest think tanks in the country for nearly a decade.

Tanden currently serves as Senior Advisor to President Biden and Staff Secretary. She served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as presidential campaigns and think tanks. Most recently, Neera was the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

"She was a key architect of the Affordable Care Act and helped drive key domestic policies that became part of my agenda, including clean energy subsidies and sensible gun reform. While growing up, Neera relied on some of the critical programs that she will oversee as Domestic Policy Advisor, and I know those insights will serve my Administration and the American people well. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Neera in her new role," said Biden.

Tanden previously served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, working on President Obama’s health reform team in the White House. Prior to that, she was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, and served as policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

Additionally, Zayn Siddique will be promoted to Principal Deputy of the Domestic Policy Council. Zayn Siddique currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Mobility and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

In this role, he leads White House policy development on issues including housing, child care, education, workforce, and agriculture.

Previously, Siddique served as Senior Advisor to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Bruce Reed. He also served as Chief of Staff for the Domestic and Economic Team for the Biden-Harris Transition and as a member of Vice President Harris’s prep team for the 2020 Vice-Presidential Debate.

Stefanie Feldman has worked for President Biden for more than a decade. She currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the White House Domestic Policy Advisor. Previously, she served as the National Policy Director for the Biden-Harris presidential campaign, the inaugural Policy Director for the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden School of Public Policy & Administration, and in various policy roles in the White House Office of the Vice President during the Obama-Biden Administration.