Indian-American Maju Varghese has been appointed as the deputy to US President Joe Biden and director of the White House Military Office. A trained lawyer, Varghese had earlier served as the chief operating officer of the Biden campaign during the 2020 presidential election and later as the executive director of the inaugural committee, becoming one of more than 20 Indian-Americans appointed to senior positions in the Biden administration.
Announcing his designation, Varghese tweeted a photo of the White House Arrival Lounge and wrote, "Maju Varghese is now deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Military Office.”
"The primaries, the general, the inaugural. Grateful for the journey, for great teammates and the history we made together. Honoured to serve the country and the President. Proud to walk through those gates again and to take my family, their story and their hopes with me," Varghese tweeted along with the photo on Tuesday.
The White House Military Office (WHMO) is a department within the White House Office that gives military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support, emergency medical services and hospitality services. A WHMO director is entitled to supervise all military operations aboard Air Force One on Presidential missions worldwide.
Being one of the 4 members of the presidential inaugural committee, Varghese was involved in organising the activities surrounding the swearing-in of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on January 20 and was also the chief operating officer and senior advisor in the Biden-Harris presidential campaign and managing the campaign's daily operations.
Earlier works
Before, Varghese had served in the White House under President Barack Obama in various roles, including as the assistant to the president for management and administration and deputy director of advance.
Varghese has also worked as a senior advisor for the law firm Dentons and was the chief operating officer for The Hub Project.
Parents from Kerala
Maju Varghese was born in the US to parents who immigrated from Thiruvalla, Kerala and holds a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherts.
Sharing about his family’s history in 2019, Varghese said his mother was a nurse from India and his father drove a cab in New York City, and also had a second job working as a hospital security guard.