Donald Trump appoints Indian-American to key position in White House communications team

Washington: US president Donald Trump has appointed Indian-American Raj Shah to a key position in his communications team, the White House says. Trump also appointed his confidant Hope Hicks as his communications director, officials say. Hicks previously served as Assistant to the President and Interim Communications Director. [caption id=“attachment_4021607” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Donald Trump . AP[/caption] “Raj Shah will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary,” the White House said in a statement. Shah formerly served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director. Mercedes Schlapp, a Fox News contributor and columnist for The Washington Times, will serve as Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications. Trump also appointed Steven Cheung as Director of Strategic Response. He previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Communications Director. Shah, 32, was one of the few handful of Trump’s aides who landed in the White House within hours of him being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on 20 January. In April he was identified as one of the three West Wing Power Player in the White House along with Hope Hicks and Eli Miller. Born and raised in Connecticut, Shah’s parents migrated to the US in 1980s. His parents are from Gujarat. His father, an engineer by profession, moved to Mumbai at a young age while his mother hails from Bhujpur in Kutch. Shah was Director of Opposition Research in the Republican National Committee before moving to the White House.