Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi appointed to key US House committee

Indian-American Raja Krishnamoorthi on Monday was appointed as the member of a key US House committee handling intelligence related issues. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, appointed Krishnamoorthi, 45, to the panel. Krishnamoorthi from Illinois, Congresswoman Val Demings of Florida, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York and Peter Welch of Vermont are the four new Democratic members of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the 116th Congress.

"Members of Congress take a solemn oath to protect the American people and support and defend the Constitution," said Pelosi in a statement.

"Our new Members of the Intelligence Committee bring exceptional judgment, expertise and determination to our mission to honour that oath and, guided by the strong, principled leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff, will restore the long tradition of bipartisanship and integrity of this critical committee," she said.

Krishnamoorthi was born into a Tamil-speaking family in New Delhi. His family moved to Buffalo, New York when he was three months old.

Krishnamoorthi attended Princeton University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He then received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.