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Garcetti Survives Razor Thin Vote

Garcetti Survives Razor Thin Vote

After a lengthy confirmation process, Eric Garcetti was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to India. Seven Republican senators broke ranks with their party to support the former Los Angeles mayor, whose nomination had been stalled over questions about how he had handled allegations of sexual harassment and racism by a former aide.

Garcetti was nominated by President Biden in July 2021 and his confirmation was met with relief from the Biden administration, which has struggled to fill numerous ambassadorships. The confirmation of Garcetti as ambassador to the world’s largest democracy is an important step for the administration, as it looks to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Senate voted 52-42 in favor of Garcetti, with three Democrats – Sens. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), and Mark Kelly (Ariz.) – voting against him. Their votes were offset by seven Republican senators who cast their lot with the nomination: Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Steve Daines (Mont.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Roger Marshall (Kan.) and Todd Young (Ind.).

Sen. Hirono had previously announced her support of Garcetti but abruptly changed her position abandoning her party after she said she had received “very credible” information about him that she deemed disqualifying. She declined to go into further detail about the nature of the information.

The seven Republicans who voted in favor of Garcetti’s nomination argued that it was a “national security imperative” to have an ambassador in India as soon as possible. They argued that the post had been vacant for too long and that it was in the best interests of the nation to fill it.

Garcetti’s confirmation marks the first time a Latino has been appointed to the post of U.S. ambassador to India. It is also an important milestone for Biden, who picked up a Senate seat in the midterms and decided to renominate the former co-chairman of his campaign.

Written by J. Lynne - March 15, 2023