(December 31, 2024) The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was a turning point in American history, ushering in a wave of skilled Indian immigrants. They arrived as doctors, engineers, and scientists, filling critical professional gaps while navigating a society where political power remained out of reach. Now, under President-elect Donald Trump, their community has achieved unprecedented influence. Trump has tapped Indian-Americans for some of the most powerful roles in his administration: Kash Patel as FBI Director, Harmeet Dhillon to lead civil rights enforcement, Jay Bhattacharya to head the NIH, Vivek Ramaswamy to overhaul government efficiency, and Sriram Krishnan to guide AI policy. These appointments signal a shift, where a community once defined by its contributions to technical fields is now shaping the very institutions that govern the nation.
Kash Patel – Director, FBI
Kash Patel, known for his legal acumen and counterterrorism expertise, is poised to take on a new role as the head of the US’ premier investigation agency. Praised by President-elect Donald Trump as a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter,” Patel has been a staunch advocate for exposing government corruption and upholding accountability. Trump emphasized Patel’s commitment to justice, stating, “This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the border.”
Kash Patel
Early Life and Indian Roots
Born to Indian immigrant parents in Garden City, New York, Patel’s upbringing blended traditional Indian values with a quintessentially American ethos. “Like a lot of immigrant parents, my mom and dad urged me to focus on my studies and be mindful of religion and my heritage,” Patel writes in his book, Government Gangsters. Raised in a Hindu household, Patel fondly recalls childhood traditions like celebrating Diwali and Navratri and sneaking out with his father to enjoy butter chicken from Jackson Heights, Queens. He credits his close-knit family and upbringing for instilling values of hard work and fairness: “My family is proud to be American, we value hard work, we cherish fairness, and we believe in personal responsibility.”
Career Highlights
Patel started out as a public defender before transitioning to counterterrorism and intelligence roles. “Yes, some of my colleagues were crazy… but I always cared about justice and wanted those who did good to be rewarded and wrongdoers to be punished,” he writes. From there, he moved on to key roles in the Department of Justice and the National Security Council, where he oversaw high-profile counterterrorism missions, including the elimination of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
As Chief of Staff to the Acting Secretary of Defense, Patel managed intelligence operations and advised on critical national security issues. Reflecting on his career, he wrote, “I wasn’t always a committed warrior against the corrupt permanent bureaucracy in Washington, DC… but my eyes were opened.”
My family is proud to be American, we value hard work, we cherish fairness, and we believe in personal responsibility. – Kash Patel
Vision for the FBI
Patel has pledged to reform the FBI, focusing on crime reduction, combating human trafficking, and restoring public trust. “This is about justice,” he said, emphasizing his commitment to holding both criminals and corrupt officials accountable. If confirmed, Patel would be the youngest and the first Indian-American to lead the FBI, a milestone he sees as an opportunity to bring integrity and bold reforms to the nation’s top investigative agency.
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Harmeet K. Dhillon
Harmeet K. Dhillon never shies away from a fight. From taking on Big Tech over free speech to defending religious freedoms during the pandemic, the Indian-American attorney has built a reputation as one of the fiercest defenders of civil liberties in the country. “Harmeet has stood up consistently to protect our cherished civil liberties,” said President-elect Donald Trump, who has named her Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. He praised her work in “suing corporations for woke policies that discriminate against workers” and ensuring that constitutional freedoms remain protected.
Harmeet Dhillon
From Punjab to NYC
Born in Chandigarh in 1969, Dhillon moved to the US as a child when her father pursued a career as an orthopedic surgeon. Growing up in New York and North Carolina, she excelled academically, graduating from Dartmouth College and later earning her JD from the University of Virginia Law School.
A devout member of the Sikh community, Dhillon has faced discrimination for her faith but has remained steadfast in her commitment to public service. She stated, “No amount of threats to me or my team, or bigoted attacks on my faith… will deter me from advancing positive change.”
A Defender of Civil Liberties
As the founder of Dhillon Law Group and the Center for American Liberty, Dhillon has been at the forefront of high-profile cases defending free speech and religious liberties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she filed numerous lawsuits challenging restrictions on religious gatherings and business closures, arguing that “The Constitution is not suspended in a pandemic.”
Stand up for what is right, even if you’re standing alone. Harmeet K. Dhillon
Dhillon has also gained recognition for her expertise in election law and advocacy for accountability and transparency in governance. Trump described her as “one of the top election lawyers in the country, fighting to ensure that all, and ONLY, legal votes are counted.”
A Bold Vision for Civil Rights
If confirmed, Dhillon will become the first Republican woman of Indian descent to lead the Civil Rights Division. Committed to fairness, she promises to enforce civil rights and election laws “FAIRLY and FIRMLY,” while advancing constitutional protections in a rapidly changing social and political landscape.
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Jay Bhattacharya
Jay Bhattacharya is no stranger to challenging the status quo. A Stanford-trained physician and economist, he has emerged as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a $50 billion agency central to America’s biomedical research. Known for his outspoken criticism of the government’s pandemic response, Bhattacharya has promised sweeping reforms. “We will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again and will deploy the fruits of excellent science to make America healthy again,” he said, outlining his bold vision for change.
Jay Bhattacharya
Background and Expertise
Jayanta ‘Jay’ Bhattacharya was born in 1968 in Kolkata, which a large number of his relatives continue to call home. “My mother and father are both children of India’s partition, and my mother grew up in a slum area of Kidderpore, India,” Bhattacharya told the Times of India. Although his family moved to the US, they continued to visit Kolkata regularly through his childhood. “This background and my connection to India have shaped me and continues to inspire me,” he added.
Bhattacharya is a Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. With an MD and PhD in economics from Stanford, he also directs the university’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. His research has consistently focused on improving the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, addressing topics like biomedical innovation, aging, and the economics of healthcare.
Bhattacharya’s recent work has been centered on the epidemiology of COVID-19 and evaluating the effectiveness of policy responses to the pandemic. He gained widespread attention as a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, advocating for focused protections for high-risk groups while rolling back broader shutdown measures. The declaration resonated with Republican leaders and those eager to return to pre-pandemic normalcy but faced criticism from public health officials, including WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who called the approach unethical and impractical.
“My background and my connection to India have shaped me and continue to inspire me.” Jay Bhattacharya
Vision for the NIH
Bhattacharya recently met with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and reportedly impressed him with ideas to revamp NIH. He advocates redirecting NIH funding toward more innovative research and reducing the influence of entrenched career officials. These changes, he argues, will enhance trust in the agency and its ability to address national health challenges effectively.
Though Trump’s transition team has yet to finalize the appointment, Bhattacharya’s nomination signals a potential shift in how the NIH approaches funding, innovation, and public health.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy
From setting up Stride, a publicly traded platform that earned him the epithet, CEO of Anti-Woke Inc, Vivek Ramaswamy is taking his fight against inefficiency to Washington. As co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he joins Elon Musk in an effort to overhaul federal operations and eliminate wasteful spending. Explaining his vision, Ramaswamy said, “This isn’t about trimming budgets on paper. It’s about making government work—efficiently, transparently, and for the people.”
From Biotech to Politics
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1985 to Indian immigrant parents, Ramaswamy’s early years were shaped by a drive for excellence. Always a bright student, Ramaswamy made his way to Harvard University, where he majored in Biology and served as president of the Harvard Political Union. Disillusioned by what he saw as “groupthink” among liberals, Ramaswamy embraced libertarianism and developed a distinct voice in American politics.
Ramaswamy began his professional career in biotech, founding Roivant Sciences in 2014. Under his leadership, Roivant launched Axovant, which executed a historic IPO in 2015, raising $315 million. Axovant failed by Ramaswamy cemented his reputation as a Wall Street prodigy. Reflecting on the challenges, he remarked, “It felt humiliating,” but emphasized the ethical problem of underutilized drugs being abandoned due to market inefficiencies.
The most important ingredient for the success of any company is the quality of its people, starting with its leadership team. – Vivek Ramaswamy
Crusade Against “Wokeness”
Ramaswamy’s frustrations with corporate America’s embrace of social justice themes inspired his 2021 book, Woke Inc., where he critiqued what he called the “hypocrisy” of corporate altruism. He argued that companies use social justice campaigns to distract from underlying issues, such as wage discrimination or environmental harm.
Immigration Reform
Vocal about his vision for immigration reform, Ramaswamy bats for a merit-based system that prioritizes skilled workers, saying, “Immigration should strengthen our nation’s economy and innovation—not overwhelm our system or compromise security.” With DOGE, Ramaswamy sees an opportunity to bring private-sector rigor to government inefficiency. “We’re not promising miracles,” he said at a press briefing. “But what we are promising is accountability—a government that earns the trust of its people, step by step.”
- Follow Vivek Ramaswamy on X.
Sriram Krishnan
Sriram Krishnan, a Chennai-born technologist, is set to bring his extensive expertise to the forefront of U.S. innovation as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence. With a career spanning over two decades at industry giants like Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter, Krishnan has been instrumental in driving technological advancements. Now, he aims to shape the nation’s AI policy, ensuring continued American leadership in this transformative field. “I’m honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI,” Krishnan said, emphasizing his commitment to fostering innovation while addressing critical challenges in the AI landscape.
AI to podcasting
Krishnan graduated from SRM College in Tamil Nadu. He started his career at Microsoft, contributing to the development of Windows Azure, a pioneering cloud computing platform. Krishnan later joined Facebook in 2013, where he scaled its mobile app advertising business. He also worked at Snapchat and Twitter (now X), collaborating with Elon Musk during a significant restructuring of the platform.
In 2021, Krishnan became a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms. He expanded the firm’s global presence by opening its first international office in London in 2023. In addition to his professional achievements, Krishnan advises Indian fintech company Cred and co-hosts a podcast, The Aarthi and Sriram Show, with his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy. The podcast features notable guests, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, and delves into topics such as technology, culture, and politics.
“I’m honored to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with @DavidSacks. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for this opportunity.” – Sriram Krishnan
Perspectives on Immigration and Politics
An immigrant himself, Krishnan has championed a points-based immigration system to attract skilled professionals. On his podcast, he discussed his personal challenges with U.S. immigration and suggested reforms to streamline the process.
Krishnan is also critical of the politicization of technology. He has argued that excessive focus on “wokeness” and social justice distracts from the primary goals of platforms like social media and technology publications.
- Follow Sriram Krishnan on X.
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