Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination as U.S. On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination of Ambassador to India.
His nomination was one of a number of ambassadors that were approved en bloc. This means that the committee approved all of them. Although individual senators raised objections to some of the nominees, none did to Garcetti’s selection.
Now, the nomination is sent to the full Senate.
Garcetti’s term runs through Dec. 11, 2022. If Garcetti is confirmed, the City Council may appoint a person who will fill the position up to the end. It also could call a special election to fill the vacancy through the end of the term, and appoint someone to hold the office temporarily until that special election’s results are certified.
Last month, Garcetti faced a relatively brisk confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill. One question was about allegations Garcetti answered that he knew that his top advisors were engaging in sexual harassment, but that he did not act to stop it.
A Los Angeles Police Department officer filed suit against the city last year alleging that Rick Jacobs harassed him and yet the mayor did not act. New York magazineA long piece was writtenearlier this month in which four people who worked with Garcetti and Jacobs alleged that the mayor was aware of his adviser’s behavior.
Jacobs denies the claims and Garcetti denied that he saw harassment.
“I want to say unequivocally that I never witnessed, nor was it brought to my attention, the behavior that has been alleged,”Garcetti stated at the hearing. “And I also want to assure you if it had been, I would have immediately taken action to stop that.”
At the hearing, Garcetti also was asked about how he would deal with advance human rights in India given concerns that an immigration law discriminates against Muslims.
“If confirmed, I will actively raise these issues,” Garcetti said. “I’ll raise them with humility. It is a two way street on these issues, but I intend to directly engage with civil society. There are groups that are actively fighting for the human rights of people on the ground in India that will get direct engagement with me.”