Maju Varghese (born February 21, 1978) is an American attorney and political advisor who served as director of the

White House Military Office The White House Military Office (WHMO) is a department within the White House Office that provides military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support, emergency medical services and hos ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. He assumed office on March 9, 2021 and left office January 21, 2022.

Early life and education

Varghese was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and raised in Elmont, the son of parents who immigrated from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Varghese's mother worked as a nurse while his father was a cab driver in New York City. After graduating from Elmont Memorial Junior – Senior High School, Varghese earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law of

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

Career

In 1999 and 2000, Varghese worked on the advance team for the

Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign The 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore, the List of vice presidents of the United States, 45th vice president of the United States under President Bill Clinton, began when he announced his candidacy for President of the United States, the p ...

. He then worked as a research associate for the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. From 2006 to 2010, he was a legal associate at Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP in

, where he specialized in civil litigation, construction accidents, and property damage claims.

Obama Administration

In 2010, Varghese joined the

White House Office The White House Office is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The White House Office is headed by the White House chief of staff, who is also the head of the Executive Office of the President. The st ...

, serving as advance lead, special assistant to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and director of advance, and assistant to the president for management and administration. In 2017 and 2018, Varghese was a senior advisor at

Dentons Dentons is a multinational law firm based in the United States. It was founded in March 2013 by the merger of SNR Denton, Fraser Milner Casgrain and Salans. The Dentons name originally belonged to Denton Hall, a law firm based in the City of Lo ...

. He was then the COO of The Hub Project, a left-wing advocacy and research firm that provides campaign services to progressive political candidates. From September 2019 to November 2020, Varghese was a senior advisor and the COO of the

Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign On April 25, 2019, former vice president Joe Biden released a video announcing his candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. On November 3, 2020, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, defeated incumbent Republican p ...

Biden Administration

Varghese acted as the executive director of the 59th Presidential Inaugural Committee and was later appointed as director of the

in the

. Varghese ended his term as WHMO Director on January 21, 2022. Later, Varghese joined the

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization in the United States founded in 1983 with the stated aim of advancing democracy worldwide and counter communism, communist influence abroad, by prom ...

as the chief operating officer on February 7, 2022. Varghese then became a principal at NEWCO Strategies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varghese, Maju Living people People from New York City People from Elmont, New York University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni Hofstra University alumni Obama administration personnel Biden administration personnel 1978 births