California, USA (CU)_ Vedant Patel, the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, made history as he became the first Indian-American to hold the daily State Department press conference. According to his colleagues, his performance was lauded for the highest professionalism and clearest communication. While State Department Spokesperson Ned Price was on vacation, 33-year-old Patel from California represented the nation on foreign policy concerns before the media in the State Department’s Foggy Bottom headquarters.
During his address, Patel discussed a variety of issues, including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, discussions around the JCPOA, and the appointment of Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Vedant Patel made an amazing debut from the podium. Matt Hill, senior associate communications director at the White House, tweeted, “Kudos to Vedant Patel on his podium debut”. Hill added, “Representing the United States on the world stage is a huge responsibility, and Vedant did it with the utmost professionalism and clear communication”.
According to Pili Tobar, former White House deputy communications director, “It’s so great to see Vedant Patel at the podium. Congrats my friend on an amazing debut”. Patel, a native of Gujarat, graduated from the University of California, Riverside, and formerly worked as the White House’s Assistant Press Secretary and Spokesman for President Biden. Previously, he was a spokesperson for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and the Biden-Harris Transition. During the primary and general election, he also served in communications jobs for the Biden campaign.
Patel’s previous designations include serving as Communications Director for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Mike Honda. Earlier this year, Jen Psaki, former White House Press Secretary, lauded him as extraordinarily talented. According to Psaki, “I often joke with him (Vedant Patel) that we give him easy assignments. We did not. It’s just because he’s super talented. Vedant, I’ll say about him, he’s a beautiful writer. He’s a fast writer. I don’t know if that means he could be a wire reporter. I think he has a very promising career in government ahead of him”. She added, “His contributions are amazing and everything he does to help me, help all of us, help the President every day”.
