The Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the nomination of Eric Garcetti for Ambassador to India, Wednesday.

The committee noted that Garcetti’s role in co-founding the Climate Mayors, a bi-partisan coalition of 470 U.S. mayors dedicated to climate initiatives, factored in their decision to confirm him.

Garcetti’s actions in getting the Port of Los Angeles running this winter, as well as his role as Chair of the Metro board and his ability to secure the 2028 summer Olympics for Los Angeles, were all considered.

Nominated by President Joe Biden in July of 2021 and the L.A. mayor fielded questions from the committee in December.

In December, the committee expressed key issues related to India, saying that as ambassador, Garcetti would have to address climate change initiatives, India’s lack of access to electricity, handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and “concerns” of India purchasing military hardware from Russia.

“I expect you to be frank with your Indian counterparts, not just on the areas of cooperation, but also on these differences, all of which are bipartisan priorities for this committee” Senator Bob Menendez said. “New Delhi will need to address our concerns if it seeks to deepen our partnership even further. Having you in place in India, Mayor Garcetti, will be critical to advance U.S. interest on these issues and many others.”

During the line of questioning, Garcetti addressed the allegations of employee harassment from his former advisor Rick Jacobs, saying, “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.”

The next step for Garcetti would confirmation from the U.S. Senate by majority vote.

 

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