| Vedant Patel | |
| Office: | Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State |
| President: | Joe Biden |
| Term Start: | June 6, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | Jalina Porter |
| Office2: | Assistant White House Press Secretary |
| President2: | Joe Biden |
| Term Start2: | January 20, 2021 |
| Term End2: | June 1, 2022 |
| Education: | University of California, Riverside University of Florida (MBA) |
Vedant Patel is an American government official currently serving as the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State. He has previously served as a spokesperson at the White House, for the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign, and for other politicians and organizations.
Patel was born in in Gujarat, India,[1] [2] and grew up in San Jose, California and attended Branham High School.[3] [4] He graduated from the University of California, Riverside, and received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida.[5]
Patel has worked as the communications director for U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Mike Honda, and has served as a press secretary for the Democratic National Committee.
After working for the 2020 Biden presidential campaign and the Biden presidential transition,[6] president-elect Biden named Patel to be an Assistant White House Press Secretary in his upcoming administration in December 2020. He served in this capacity starting in January 2021, after Biden's inauguration.
On June 1, 2022,[7] Patel left his position at the White House to serve as the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, starting his new post on June 6, 2022.
In September 2022 Patel became the first Indian American to conduct the daily press briefing at the United States Department of State.[8]
In March 2023, after Ned Price left his post, Patel took over as the leading State Department spokesperson on an interim basis[9] before Matthew Miller assumed the position on April 24, 2023.