Eric Garcetti’s Nomination As Ambassador To India Clears Senate Committee
Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination as ambassador to India cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, again, after stalling out over allegations that he knew about sexual harassment complaints by a former top aide.
The committee voted 13-8 to advance his nomination, per Politico. Two Republicans, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) joined with Democrats in support of his nomination. Sen. James Risch (R-ID), the committee’s ranking member who supported for Garcetti’s nomination in the last Congress, opposed it this time.
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Garcetti’s nomination sailed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, 2021, with no opposition. But it then was delayed throughout the year, as Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), acting on a whistleblower complaint, produced a Senate report that Garcetti “likely knew or should have known” about alleged sexual harassment by a former top aide, Rick Jacobs. The report was triggered by claims made by Garcetti’s former communications director, Naomi Seligman, who is now VP of external affairs for Whistleblower Aid. In a statement, she said, “Today’s vote, on International Women’s Day no less, shows a real disconnect between the rhetoric we hear from elected leaders who claim to support workplace sexual harassment and the pass they give to party loyalists in the next breath. It’s disheartening to say the least.”
In a confirmation hearing and in press interviews, Garcetti has insisted he was not aware of the claims against Jacobs, who also has denied the harassment allegations.
President Joe Biden renominated Garcetti as ambassador as the new Congress convened in January.
It’s unclear when Garcetti’s nomination will make it to the Senate floor.
Earlier this week, Biden’s nominee to the FCC, Gigi Sohn, withdrew. Her nomination also had been held up for more than a year.
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