Anxious to have the next US Ambassador in place ahead of President Barack Obama’s India visit in January, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on December 2 for Richard Rahul Verma, the Obama pick for the job.
A large number of Obama’s ambassadorial nominations are awaiting Senate confirmation and the White House wants them cleared in the next few weeks before the Republicans take control of the Senate in January. With Obama due to visit New Delhi for the Republic Day celebrations, there is a new urgency to clear Verma’s nomination. If approved, the 45-year-old Verma would be the first-ever envoy of Indian descent to be posted as US Ambassador to India.
The New Delhi post has been lying vacant since May, when Nancy Powell resigned in the wake of the diplomatic rift over the Devyani Khobragade episode.