Eric Garcetti’s Nomination to be Ambassador to India Confirmed by US Senate
Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to be Ambassador to India has been confirmed by US Senate.
New Delhi: Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appeared headed for confirmation Wednesday as the next U.S. ambassador to India, 20 months after he was initially selected for the post and amid fallout from a sexual harassment scandal involving a onetime top adviser.
The nomination cleared a key test vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, 52-42. The vote unfolded with some suspense, as it wasn’t clear the progressive Democrat would have enough support to advance. But he was able to win over a handful of Republican senators, putting him over the top. A final vote was scheduled for later in the day.
#WATCH | US Senate voted 52-42 advancing former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to be US Ambassador to India. pic.twitter.com/YJfdMNfRzY
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2023
The nomination for the prominent diplomatic post has languished in the Senate for 20 months, after President Joe Biden first named him in July 2021.
The vacancy in the ambassadorship has left a significant diplomatic gap for the administration at a time of rising global tensions, including China’s increasingly assertive presence in the Pacific region and Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The nomination has been freighted with questions about what the former mayor knew, and when, about sexual harassment allegations against his friend and once-close adviser, Rick Jacobs. A lawsuit alleges that Jacobs frequently harassed one of the then-mayor’s police bodyguards while Garcetti ignored the abuse or laughed it off.
Garcetti has repeatedly denied the claims.
Wednesday’s vote tested Democratic loyalty to Biden, and also measured assessments of Garcetti’s judgment and trustworthiness, stemming from the City Hall allegations.
“I think we can find somebody that will do the job better,” said Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Garcetti also failed to win over Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona, who said he had “serious concerns.”
But Republicans stepped in to fill the gap in the test vote, all but assuring his confirmation.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said, “I met with him personally. He clearly has an enormous amount of expertise about India. India’s been two years without an ambassador, and that is far too long. And I am going to support him.”
(With Inputs From Associated Press)
