COURTESY HT JAN 17

Punjab-origin Trump aide Verma resigns as healthcare administrator

Seema Verma
Press Trust of India

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

Washington : Seema Verma, one of the highest-ranking Indian Americans in the outgoing Trump administration, has resigned from her top healthcare position, days ahead of Joe Biden’s swearing in as the next president of the United States.

Verma, 50, tendered her resignation to President Donald Trump on Thursday as administrator of Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a position she served in the Trump administration for the last four years. She was one of the close confidants of Trump and the longest-serving administrator in the history of CMS.

Verma was born in the United States. But her parents migrated to the US from Punjab. Her husband, also a physician, has his origins from Patna, Bihar.

She was also appointed by Trump in May last year as one of the key members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force constituted to combat the deadly disease.“As the Trump administration comes to a close, I have submitted my official resignation and am preparing to turn the keys over to the next administrator next week,” she said in a tweet on Friday. In her three-page resignation letter she said, “Taken in their totality, the actions CMS has taken over the last four years will revolutionise healthcare for generations to come and transform healthcare for every American patient. They represent a true turning point and will leave a lasting imprint on our country.” “Serving the American people with the talented and dedicated staff at CMS for nearly four years has been an honour for which I will always be grateful,” she said. Her resignation will become effective January 20, the day of the inauguration of Biden as the 46th President of the United States.