White House Names Medha Raj Chief Of Staff Of Its Climate Policy Office

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – The White House has named Indian American Medha Raj as the new Chief of Staff for its Climate Policy Office, the Washington Post said in a report.

Raj was previously in the National Security Council where she was an Advisor to the Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary. While there she was also Chief of Staff, Operation Allies Welcome Task Force, the White House task force dedicated to Afghan refugee settlement.

She comes to the administration through the Biden campaign of 2020 where she had served as the Digital Chief of Staff, a key role at a time when the campaigning was almost entirely virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with Raj, The White House climate office has brought in new staffers to work on transportation emissions, clean energy infrastructure, agriculture, and other issues, Politico reported on May 10. The Indian American will replace Maggie Thomas who has been named Special Assistant to the President for climate, it reported.

President Joe Biden had signaled the seriousness with which his administration would deal with the climate crisis at home and abroad when, through an executive order he established the office in 2021. The office coordinates the policy-making process; ensures decisions and programs across the spectrum are consistent with the President’s stated goals and are also being effectively pursued.  

With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which included about $370 billion in clean energy and climate investments in 10 years, the office has a huge say on policy and government actions related to among other things, the White House said, resilience to the impacts of climate change; conservation of lands, waters, oceans, and biodiversity; environmental justice; and spur economic growth.

A graduate of Georgetown University and an MBA from Stanford University, 

Medha Raj was a research assistant for Real Institute Elcano in Spain and a consultant at Deloitte.

Raj worked on the Buttigieg campaign, from August 2019 to March 2020.

She also served in the office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, now the Ambassador to India, and on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s campaign in 2018.

After the recent retirement of Gina McCarthy, the White House Climate Policy Office is being led by National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.