House to vote on ambassadorial nominee to India on Thursday

Washington: A crucial Senate Committee would vote on Trump Administration’s Ambassadorial nominee to India– Ken Juster– later this week, thus paving the way for a full Senate confirmation soon.

The confirmation process of Ken Juster, an old India hand in the Trump Administration, is likely to be a smooth affair given the bipartisan support the former White House official received during his confirmation hearing early this month.

As per the agenda of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released on Monday, the full committee would take a vote on 16 ambassadorial nominees including that of Juster on Thursday. Other Ambassadorial nominees include that of Niger, Seychelles, Zambia, Angola, Mauritania, Cameroon, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Germany, Andorra, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Djibouti, Netherlands and Haiti.

A senior administration said Juster is “going to just really be a fine representative” who understands the importance that the president places on the US-India ties. He “is going to do everything he can to advance that relationship to a new level,” the official said. Most recently, Juster had served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.

He would replace Richard Verma, as the US Ambassador to India, if confirmed by the Senate. The position of US Ambassador to India has been vacant since January 20. Juster has previously served as Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001-2005, Counsellor (acting) of the State Department from 1992-1993, and deputy and senior adviser to the Deputy Secretary of State from 1989-1992.

In the private sector, he has been a partner at the investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC, Executive Vice President at Salesforce.com, and senior partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter. He has also served as Chairman of Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and as Vice Chairman of The Asia Foundation.

Juster holds an AB in Government (Phi Beta Kappa) from Harvard College, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a JD from the Harvard Law School.