Ambassadorial confirmation hearing of Richard Verma in Dec
27 Nov 2014 12:52 AM GMT
He would replace Nancy Powell, who resigned from her position early this year. Kathleen Stephens is the current chief-de-mission in India.
The scheduling of Verma’s confirmation hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee immediately after the Thanksgiving holidays is seen as an effort to accelerate the process of his confirmation so that the new US Ambassador is in place before January 26 visit of Obama to India.
Obama has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest of the annual Republic Day function.This would be the first time that a US President would be attending the Republic Day celebrations. He would also be the first ever US President to visit India twice.Administration officials and Senate leadership hope that Verma would be confirmed by the Senate before what is now being billed as a historic visit.
Currently there are more than 55 Ambassadorial nominations pending in the US Senate, mainly because of obstructions from the Republicans.Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry had urged the Senate leadership to confirm the ambassadorial nominations, which he argued is having an impact on American diplomacy globally. According to Congressional sources, Verma is highly popular among both the Democrats and Republicans.He worked as a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007 and played a key role ?- behind the scene in the passage of the India-US Civilian Nuclear Deal.
The scheduling of Verma’s confirmation hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee immediately after the Thanksgiving holidays is seen as an effort to accelerate the process of his confirmation so that the new US Ambassador is in place before January 26 visit of Obama to India.
Obama has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chief guest of the annual Republic Day function.This would be the first time that a US President would be attending the Republic Day celebrations. He would also be the first ever US President to visit India twice.Administration officials and Senate leadership hope that Verma would be confirmed by the Senate before what is now being billed as a historic visit.
Currently there are more than 55 Ambassadorial nominations pending in the US Senate, mainly because of obstructions from the Republicans.Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry had urged the Senate leadership to confirm the ambassadorial nominations, which he argued is having an impact on American diplomacy globally. According to Congressional sources, Verma is highly popular among both the Democrats and Republicans.He worked as a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007 and played a key role ?- behind the scene in the passage of the India-US Civilian Nuclear Deal.
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