Senate committee set to appoint ambassadorial nominee to India

Washington: A crucial Senate Committee will vote on Trump administration’s ambassadorial nominee to India — Ken Juster– later this week, paving the way for a full Senate confirmation of the old India hand, who played a key role in the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

The confirmation process of 62-year-old Juster 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.

Juster played a key role in enhancing the Indo-US ties under the Bush administration. He would replace Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India if his name is confirmed.

The position has been vacant since January 20 after Verma put in his papers as Trump took over as the US president.

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 a law degree from the Harvard Law School, a masters degree in Public Policy from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a bachelors degree in Government from Harvard College.