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The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted today to make former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti become India's ambassador. Garcetti, who is Joe Biden's pick for the key envoy position, will now face a vote on the floor of the United States Senate. The panel approved the nomination by a vote of 13-8, with Republican Sens. Todd Young and Bill Hagerty joining all Democrats on the committee in voting for Eric Garcetti. "We saw the action of the Senate today. We wholeheartedly applaud it. The United States needs a confirmed ambassador to India. Our team on the ground, including the chargé d'affaires, who took the place of an ambassador, did an extraordinary job," he said. US State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Clearing Eric Garcetti's name, the committee said having a full-time ambassador to India was a matter of national security.
Garcetti's name was also approved by the committee last year, but the appointment did not go through due to allegations of sexual misconduct against some of his office staff.
Due to the stalemate, the United States has not had an Indian ambassador for two years. With the key post vacant, the Biden administration last year appointed Elizabeth Jones as acting chargé d'affaires at its embassy in Delhi.
Mr. Garcetti, 52, was nominated by President Biden for the post of ambassador to India in July 2021. But his nomination was not submitted to the Senate for a vote because the ruling Democrats did not have enough support to pass it. . Republicans and some members of Garcetti's party opposed his nomination because of allegations of sexual misconduct against some staffers in the Los Angeles mayor's office during his tenure.
Sen. Chuck Grassley released a report on the situation in May, concluding that Garcetti was likely aware of allegations that his former chief of staff, Rick Jacobs, sexually harassed a Los Angeles police officer.
Sentor's office said in a statement that the investigation's findings contradict what Eric Garcetti testified at a nomination hearing before the committee.
Mr. Garcetti said at the time in response to the report that he "strongly" disagreed with its findings and expressed optimism that it would be confirmed by the full Senate.
A report commissioned by the city of Los Angeles had previously concluded that Mr. Garcetti did not engage in inappropriate conduct in connection with the allegations against Jacobs.
Eric Garcetti never received a full Senate vote before the end of the congressional session in January, and was immediately reappointed by Joe Biden at the beginning of the current session.
