Patel will join 15 communications and press personnel appointed so far at the White House
Vedant Patel, the Indian-American communications aide to House member Pramila Jayapal, will now be President-Elect Joe Biden’s assistant press secretary. Patel is one of 16 communications and press appointees for the White House.
Patel has been a key communications man for the Democratic Party in the Biden-Harris election campaign of 2020. He became regional communications director for the campaign after serving in his previous roles as western regional press secretary for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and communications director for Jayapal and Mike Honda, the California representative who lost to Ro Khanna.
Priya Singh, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, was the first Indian-American in the White House. She served for over a year as White House Press Assistant. Later, President Donald Trump appointed Raj Shah, another Indian-American, as White House Deputy Press Secretary and Deputy Assistant to the President.
Patel’s appointment in Biden’s key team comes on the heels on nominations of Neera Tanden, who will be the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General. Other nominations by Biden and Harris include Atul Gawande and Celine Gounder to the Covid-19 task force, Mala Adiga to be the policy director for Jill Biden, First Lady-to-be, and Maju Varghese to be the executive director of the Presidential inauguration on January 20. Nominations must be confirmed in the Senate.
Patel was born in India and raised in the United States, and a graduate of the University of California-Riverside.
