A Senate committee in the US has voted in favour of former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to be the United States Ambassador to India. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Garcetti’s nomination by a vote of 13-8, with Republicans Todd Young and Bill Hagerty joining Democrats in favour.
The vote came about 20 months after President Joe Biden initially nominated Garcetti for the job, one of the country’s highest profile diplomatic posts.
Garcetti, a former Mayor of Los Angeles was nominated by US President Joe Biden for the diplomatic position in July 2021. However, his candidature has been stalled for a year due to charges that Garcetti knew about sexual harassment committed by one of his former senior advisers and failed to do anything about it.
Here is all you need to know about Eric Garcetti who will be the next US ambassador to India:
– Born in Los Angeles, California, Garcetti completed his graduation in urban planning and Political Science and Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University.
– He also studied in the London School of Economics. Before entering politics, Garcetti taught public policy, diplomacy and world affairs at the University of Southern California, according to NDTV.
– From 2013 to 2022, he was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles and a member of the Democratic Party. He was the Los Angeles’ first elected Jewish mayor and its second Mexican American mayor in a row.
– Garcetti was 42 at the time of his inauguration, making him the youngest mayor in almost 100 years.
– Garcetti, 52, a former Mayor of Los Angeles, was nominated by President Joe Biden for US Ambassador to India in July 2021. His nomination was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote as the ruling Democratic Party did not have enough support to get him through.
– Garcetti wasn’t confirmed in Biden’s first two years in office amid concerns by some lawmakers that the then-mayor hadn’t adequately handled allegations against a former senior adviser of sexual assault and harassment.
– Biden renominated him earlier this year and the White House has publicly defended Garcetti as a well-qualified candidate.
– 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 at the center of the scandal charges that Jacobs frequently sexually harassed one of the then-mayor’s police bodyguards, while Garcetti ignored the abuse or laughed it off.
– Due to the impasse, the US did not had an India Ambassador for around two years now, the longest period of a US ambassador not being confirmed. With the key post vacant, the Biden administration last year appointed Elizabeth Jones as the Charge d’Affaires ad interim at its Embassy in Delhi.
– Garcetti considered a 2020 White House bid and later became part of Biden’s inner circle. Ambassadorships frequently reward political supporters.
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