Obama nominates Richard Verma as new US envoy to India

Washington, Sep 19: President Barack Obama today nominated Indian-American, Richard Rahul Verma, as the next US Ambassador to India, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington later this month.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Verma, who earlier served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs and is now in the private sector, would be the first Indian-American to serve as the top US diplomatic position in New Delhi.

Obama announced his nomination along with several other key administration appointments.

"I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead," Obama said in a statement.

The US Embassy in New Delhi is currently headed by a Charge d'affaires, Kathleen Stephens.

Verma, 45, said to be a close confidant of the President and also former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, currently serves as Senior Counselor at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and Albright Stonebridge Group. He is also a Senior National Security Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Previously, he was Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Department of State from 2009 to 2011 and Partner at Steptoe and Johnson LLP from 2007 to 2009.

He was Senior National Security Advisor, Counsel and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2002 to 2007, and an Associate at Steptoe & Johnson from 1998 to 2002.

Verma served on active duty in the US Air Force from 1994 to 1998 and received, among other decorations, the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

Earlier in his career, Verma was a Field Representative for the National Democratic Institute in Eastern Europe and worked in the House of Representatives for Congressman John P Murtha.

He served on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation and Terrorism in 2008 and has been a member of the Secretary of State's Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

Verma currently serves on the boards of Human Rights First, the Clinton Foundation, and the National Democratic Institute. He received a BS from Lehigh University, a JD from American University, and an LLM from Georgetown University Law Center.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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