USA (Commonwealth Union)_ Radha Iyengar Plumb, a national security expert, has been confirmed by the US Senate as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, making her the latest Indian-American to be appointed to a high post by the Biden administration. In June 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Plumb, who is presently the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, for this prestigious role.

Accordingly, the US Senate Periodical Press Gallery tweeted that Plumb had been confirmed to the position by a vote of 68-30. According to the tweet from the US Senate Periodical Press Gallery, “By a vote of 68-30, the Senate confirmed Radha Iyengar Plumb to be the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense”. Before being named Chief of Staff, Plumb held the position of Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Safety at Google, as well as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook.

Prior to her work in the private sector, Plumb worked as a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, where she worked to enhance the measurement and assessment of readiness and security initiatives throughout the Department of Defense. She has also held several top staff positions in national security matters at the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the White House National Security Council.

Plumb began her career as an assistant professor at the London School of Economics, and she also completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard. Her profile, which was made public by the White House in June 2022, shows that Plumb graduated from Princeton University with a Ph.D. and M.S. in Economics, as well as a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to her LinkedIn profile, Plumb characterizes herself as an accomplished leader with strong technical and analytical skills and an impressive track record of working in government, academia, and industry.