Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is on track to be confirmed as ambassador to India with the support of Republicans even after some Democrats questioned his handling of a sexual harassment case during his time in office.
(Bloomberg) — Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is on track to be confirmed as ambassador to India with the support of Republicans even after some Democrats questioned his handling of a sexual harassment case during his time in office.
The Senate voted 52-42 to advance his nomination, setting up a confirmation vote expected later Wednesday.
Some members suggested he mishandled the case of a former staffer accused of sexual harassment and making racist remarks. Garcetti rejected the accusations.
President Joe Biden nominated Garcetti in July 2021 and his nomination advanced from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week on a 13-8 vote, with Republicans Todd Young and Bill Hagerty voting for him. But several Democrats including Mark Kelly of Arizona, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said they wouldn’t support him.
“I’ve read all the material on this, and I just have serious concerns about this,” Kelly told reporters.
A review led by Senator Chuck Grassley found that Garcetti “likely” knew or should have known that a former aide had committed sexual harassment and made racist comments. A White House spokesman had called the GOP-led report a partisan “hit job.”
Asked about the Senate committee vote after it occurred, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that “put simply, the United States needs a confirmed ambassador in India” given the country’s importance.
The debate around Garcetti led to an unusual situation Wednesday where Democrats argued against his nomination while a small group of Republicans argued for it.
Garcetti “denied the charges, I accept that,” Tennessee’s Hagerty told reporters. “More importantly, I’m dead set that we need to have an ambassador in place in India. We needed an ambassador in New Delhi two years ago, and this is malpractice not to have an ambassador seated there.”
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