Roving Periscope: India-friendly NSA and SoS likely in Trump II team in the US

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Ahead of his inauguration for the second term at the White House on January 20, 2025, US President-elect Donald Trump is putting his team together and is likely to pick up a pro-India Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor, among other top posts, according to the media reports.

Senator Marco Rubio is likely as Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, potentially becoming the first Latino to hold the position if confirmed. He has been a strong advocate for taking on America’s adversaries like China, Iran, and Cuba.

Rubio has pushed for closer ties with India, viewing it as a key partner in countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and has also been vocal about holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable for human rights abuses and aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Also, Congressman Mike Waltz, who is viewed as the front-runner as Trump’s next NSA, “would be good” for the India-US relationship, Indian-American Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Khanna, 48, and Waltz, 50, are respectively the Democratic and Republican Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans, the largest country-specific caucus in the House of Representatives, the Lower House of the US Congress.

“I am confident he will be very good for the US-India relationship, Khanna told an Indian news outlet soon after the news broke that Walz was tapped by Trump as his NSA on Monday.

He would replace Jake Sullivan as the NSA after Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th President of the United States in January. 

“I have a great relationship with Mike Waltz, and he was always good to work with. We traveled to India together when we led a delegation in 2023 for India’s Independence Day,” Khanna said.

They have worked together on several key issues related to the India-US relationship. In May, they wrote a joint letter to the then House Speaker, Kavin McCarthy, requesting him to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a joint address to the US Congress.

“As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence and US-India relations, we write to you as Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans with a shared commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship between the United States and India,” they said on May 23, 2023, adding the foundation of this partnership lies in the shared commitment to democracy and the upholding of a rules-based international system.

After his election as the Co-Chair of the India Caucus in January 2023, Waltz said that India is the world’s largest democracy and an important strategic partner for the United States.

“That’s why I’m honored to serve as the Co-Chair of the House India Caucus in this Congress to ensure we continue this partnership, strengthen political, economic, and security ties between our two countries, and protect democracies in Asia and worldwide,” he said.

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Waltz and Khanna, then Co-Vice Chairs of the India Caucus, signed a letter with India Caucus Co-Chairs Congressmen Brad Sherman and Steve Chabot, to rush medical supplies to India. On April 29, 2021, they argued it is in the US interest for everyone in India to be vaccinated.

“Further, we ask that you share with India surplus doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as possible. Finally, we also understand that India is eager to domestically produce high-quality US vaccines. We hope that you work with the private sector to assess how the US can best advance cooperation in this regard,” they said.

In a statement, Waltz then said India is the world’s largest democracy and an essential ally in America’s global competition with China. He has spoken consistently against China and has been instrumental in several legislations in the House of Representatives.

In February 2021, Waltz introduced a resolution calling on the US to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics should the International Olympic Committee not move the Games to a different country.