New DelhiA Senate committee has approved the nomination of former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the US ambassador to India. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported the nomination on Wednesday by a vote of 13-8. Garcetti was first nominated by US Vice President Joe Biden for mayor as ambassador to India in July 2021, and was initially approved by the committee and in January 2022.
Nevertheless, his candidacy has been put on hold for a year due to allegations that Garcetti knew about sexual harassment committed by one of his former senior advisers and failed to do anything about it. ALSO READ: Eric Garcetti’s hopes of becoming the next US ambassador to India after Senate committee votes in his favor
Here’s what you need to know about Eric Garcetti:
- Eric Michael Garcetti was born on February 4, 1971, in Los Angeles, California.
- Garcetti is a member of the Democratic Party, and he was first elected in 2013 and then re-elected in 2017.
- From 2013 to 2022, he was the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles and a member of the Democratic Party.
- Garcetti was the city’s first elected Jewish mayor and second consecutive Mexican American mayor.
- He was 42 at the time of his inauguration, making him the youngest mayor in nearly 100 years.
- Garcetti was a former member of the Los Angeles City Council and served as President of the City Council from 2006 to 2012.
- In the early spring of 2007, he endorsed Barack Obama and served as chairman of Southern California and one of six state co-chairs for the Obama campaign.
- Garcetti Yes has been a staunch opponent of the California separatist movement and has been rumored to run for president in 2020, but has decided to serve out his term as mayor.
- He formally endorsed Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential campaign in 2020 and was announced as the candidate for Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration in January 2020.
- Joseph Biden nominated Garcetti to be the United States Ambassador to India in July 2021.
- Garcetti has faced criticism for his handling of a sexual misconduct scandal involving his top adviser Rick Jacobs, which has led some senators to oppose his confirmation.
GOP Senator Young defended his decision to vote in favor of Garcetti. “It is in our national security interest to immediately have an ambassador to India to work with the US in the Indo-Pacific, to balance China… She has an imperfect resume, but the skills to succeed in this capacity.” is,” Young said. The White House has full confidence in Garcetti. It informed reporters last week that Garcetti is eligible to be the United States Ambassador to India.