After renomination, former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was confirmed to become U.S. Ambassador to India.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of Garcetti becoming ambassador to India by a vote of 52-42, just months after Garcetti was renominated for the India ambassadorship by President Joe Biden in January.

“The United States-India relationship is extremely important and it’s a very good thing we now have an ambassador,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during the hearing Wednesday.

The original nomination expired at the end of 2022., with the Senate committee at unable to agree on Garcetti’s appointment due to accusations that he aware and dismissive of sexual misconduct occurring within his office.

“Simply said… harassment and discrimination have no place in the workplace, no place in our society and I have zero tolerance for that,” Garcetti told the senate committee on December 14, 2021. “In regards to this specific case, I want to say unequivocally that I never witnessed, nor was it brought to my attention, the behavior that’s been alleged. I also want to assure you that if it had been, I would have immediately taken action to stop that.”

With a new group of senators voted into office for 2023, Biden sent the nomination for reconsideration, earning the vote of 11 democrats in the committee, as well as two republican senators, before being sent to the senate floor.

Once on the floor, seven Republicans voted in favor of the confirmation, breaking the filibuster, but Garcetti did not receive full support from all democrats, with senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Sherrod Brown of Ohio voting “no.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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