Trump Celebrates Diwali |
President Donald Trump celebrated Diwali at the White House Oct. 17, lighting a diya amidst an intimate gathering of Indian American members of his administration and prominent community leaders. The president was joined by Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai; Vanila Singh, chief medical officer in the office of the assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services; and other South Asian American members of the Trump administration. Trump`s daughter Ivanka also attended the festivities. Sen. Orrin Hatch, who sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Sept. 26 urging Trump to celebrate Diwali, did not attend the celebration. Hatch sent the letter at the behest of Indian American businessman Shalabh `Shalli` Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition. Kumar and his adopted daughter, actress Manasvi Mamgai, stood by Trump`s side as he lit the traditional diya in the Oval Office. Trump said he was deeply honored to be joined by so many administration officials and leaders of the Indian American community to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.
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