Meet Raj Shah, the Indian-American who Donald Trump just elevated to a key White House position

Indian-American Raj Shah, a well known aide of Donald Trump, has been appointed to a key position by the US President in his communications team, the White House has said.

Shah, 32, was one of the few handful aides of Trump who landed in the White House within hours of the billionaire tycoon's swearing in as the 45th US President on January 20.

He formerly served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director. In April, Shah was identified as one of the three West Wing Power Players in the White House along with Hope Hicks and Eli Miller.

"Raj Shah will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary," the White House said in a statement yesterday.

Trump also appointed his confidant Hope Hicks as his Communications Director. Hicks previously served as Assistant to the President and Interim 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.

Shah was head of the Opposition Research in the Republican National Committee before he moved to the White House. He had led a team of experts to carry out research against Trump's presidential rival Hillary Clinton. He was behind all the anti-Clinton campaign during the presidential polls.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Shah's parents are from Gujarat and had migrated to the US in 1980s.

His father, an engineer by profession, moved to Mumbai at a young age while his mother hails from Bhujpur in Kutch.