Richard Verma Nominated to be the U.S. Ambassador to India

President Barack Obama nominated former State Department official Richard Verma as U.S. ambassador to India on Thursday, just ahead of a visit to Washington by new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a White House statement said.

Verma, an Indian-American, served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs at the State Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.

He is currently a senior counselor at Steptoe & Johnson law firm and the Albright Stonebridge Group, a business advisory company, led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

White House officials said Verma has close relationships with Obama’s White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and senior adviser John Podesta. He will be the first Indian-American to do the job.

Denish Sahadevan