Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gives a speech in 2020. President Biden nominated him in 2021 as ambassador to India.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
The Senate confirmed former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as U.S. ambassador to India on Wednesday, ending a nearly two-year fight over his nomination.
Senators voted 52-42 to confirm Garcetti to the post. He lost the votes of three Democrats but convinced seven Republicans to cross the aisle, winning him the job.
The outcome was anything but guaranteed. Democratic defections had mounted Wednesday morning, with several senators citing lingering questions about whether Garcetti knew or should have known about a former top aide’s alleged sexual harassment of colleagues.
Six senators were absent from Capitol Hill on Wednesday, further complicating the vote counting.
But Garcetti’s nomination was rescued by the Republican senators who broke ranks to support him, including Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Todd Young of Indiana.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who said as recently as last week that she was going to give Garcetti “the benefit of the doubt” that he didn’t know about alleged misconduct by a top aide, said Wednesday morning that she would oppose the nomination based on “credible” new information she received. She would not disclose what she had learned.
Read more at LA Times.