Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is a close ally of US President Joe Biden. His appointment as US Ambassador to India was stalled as he was embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal.
Eric Garcetti, US President Joe Biden's nominee for US Ambassador to India Twitter/Eric Garcetti
04 JAN 2023
US President Joe Biden has renominated former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the Ambassador of the United States to India.
The appointment of Garcetti, a close aide of Biden, has been stuck for over a year over of his name coming up in a sexual abuse scandal. He was first nominated in July 2021.
The United States has not had a full-time envoy in India since since early 2021 when the previous US envoy Kenneth I Juster completed his tenure. The current US head of mission in India is A Elizabeth Jones, who is serving as the Chargé d’Affaires in the absence of a full-time envoy.
Following the US mid-term elections that has strengthened Biden's Democratic Party in the US Congress, Biden has now renominated Garcetti. The White House has exuded confidence that the former Mayor of Los Angeles would be confirmed by the Senate this time.
"Eric M Garcetti, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of India," the White House said after sending the nomination to the Senate.
The move came as the White House began renominating candidates who were not confirmed in the last Congress.
"As Secretary (of State, Antony) Blinken said very recently, our relationship with India is crucial and it's consequential, so we see this as a very important nomination,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday at her daily news conference.
Who is Eric Garcetti, Biden's India envoy nominee?
Eric Garcetti is two-term Mayor of Los Angeles. He left office last month which he had held since 2013.
Garcetti is believed to be a close ally of Biden. At the beginning of Biden presidency, he was considered a contender for a Cabinet post.
Initially, Garcetti also considered a run for a presidential candidature in 2020 but later joined Biden’s inner circle.
Garcetti has travelled several times to India. In college, he spent a year studying Hindi and Urdu.
A Rhodes Scholar, Garcetti studied at Queen's College, Oxford and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was selected as an inaugural Asia 21 Fellow of the Asia Society and taught at Occidental College's Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs as well as at the University of Southern California's School of International Relations.
Why was Eric Garcetti's appointment stalled?
Eric Garcetti's appointment to the post of US Ambassador to India was stalled over his name in a sexual abuse scandal.
It was alleged that Garcetti was aware of sexual misconduct of a senior aide but did not act on the allegations.
As ambassadors need to be confirmed by the US Congress, opposition by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley over the sex scandal stalled the appointment.
It was alleged that Garcetti was aware of sexual abuse accusations against his senior staffer Rick Jacobs and he did not act on those accusations.
A police officer who served as one of Garcetti’s bodyguards alleged that Jacobs made crude sexual comments and touched him inappropriately over many years. The officer alleged that Jacobs would extend his hand for a handshake but then pull him into a “long, tight hug” while simultaneously saying, “I love me my strong LAPD officers” or some other “inappropriate comment”, according to a lawsuit. It added that Jacobs once motioned for him to come over to him and “sit on his lap” at a bar.
This began around 2014 and continued until October 2019, according to the lawsuit filed by the officer.
The lawsuit further said, “Garcetti was present on approximately half of the occasions when Jacobs behaved in this way, and witnessed Jacobs’ conduct, but he took no action to correct Jacobs’ obviously harassing behaviour.”
Though the hold on his nomination had been lifted, Garcetti could not be confirmed by the last Congress. The White House is now confident that his nomination will now be cleared.
What has White House said?
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "We will continue to seek the confirmation of Mayor Garcetti, who has - who was voted out of committee unanimously and with strong bipartisan support to serve as ambassador to India.
"And that’s important, as we’re talking about bipartisanship, as we’re talking (about) how we’re going to move forward. And this is what you saw with his particular nomination.So, we see this as he is well qualified — Mayor Garcetti — to serve in this vital role. And we’re hopeful that the full Senate will confirm him promptly."
(With PTI inputs)
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