Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi appointed to committee on intelligence. Details here
Indian-American Democratic lawmaker Raja Krishnamoorthy was appointed as a member of a Congressional committee on intelligence yesterday. He became the first South Asian to serve in the powerful body tasked to strengthen America's national security. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, appointed Krishnamoorthi, 45, to the panel. He represents Illinois's 8th congressional district in the House. Here's more.
Krishnamoorthy was chosen along with Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont as the four new Democratic members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for the 116th Congress. The HPSCI is tasked with overseeing the activities and budget of the 17 intelligence agencies of the United States like Defense Intelligence Agency.
Pelosi said, "Our new members of the Intelligence Committee bring exceptional judgment and expertise to our mission to honor that oath and, guided by the strong, principled leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff, will restore the long tradition of bipartisanship and integrity of this critical committee."
Krishnamoorthi, after Pelosi announced his appointment, said, "It is very humbling to be chosen to serve on the Intelligence Committee in this Congress." He said he's ready to preserve the safety and security of the US. "The intelligence challenges facing our country today are vast, ranging from terrorism to cyber-warfare to investigating Russia's previous and continuing attempts to sabotage our democracy," said Krishnamoorthi.
Proud to join my colleagues and Chairman @RepAdamSchiff on the Intelligence Committee https://t.co/5aKsoBKapn
— Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) January 16, 2019
"I am honored that the Speaker and Caucus have placed their trust in me and the contributions I'll make to the Committee. When I took the oath of office, I swore to protect and defend the Constitution from all threats, foreign and domestic," said Krishnamoorthi.
Krishnamoorthi was born into a Tamil-speaking family in New Delhi. His family moved to Buffalo, New York when he was three months old. He attended Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He then received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Early this week, Pelosi appointed Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal to the House Education and Labour Committee.
