US India envoy nominee, fighting Senate block, gets White House support

Eric Garcetti, who has been nominated by United States President Joe Biden to serve as the Ambassador to India, will be an “excellent representative”, the White House said on Wednesday. The United States Senate halted Garcetti’s nomination due to pending investigations.

Chuck Grassley, the top Republican in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that “numerous credible allegations” were reported to the committee surrounding Garcetti’s link to a sexual harassment allegation on a colleague. 

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary said that Senator Grassley can not “actually prevent a vote from moving forward on the floor. I mean, he can convey his opposition, as is the right of any Senator”, according to reports from PTI.

However, Garcetti — who currently serves as the mayor of Los Angeles — is “out of committee, and we’re hoping to see a vote on the Senate floor soon”, Psaki added.

“The President has confidence in Mayor Garcetti and believes he’ll be an excellent representative in India, she said in response to a question.

“It is critical, of course, that we have confirmed leadership at all of our embassies, including India, and we urge the Senate to confirm him as quickly as possible,” Psaki said, according to reports from PTI.

Investigators in Senator Grassley’s office are probing what Garcetti knew of longtime political adviser and City Hall confidant Rick Jacobs’ inappropriate behaviour towards women and men in and around City Hall, Politico reported earlier this month.

“The allegations involving the mayor’s office have been the subject of public reporting and a purportedly independent investigation. However, serious questions remain regarding the alleged misconduct, as well as the mayor’s knowledge of that misconduct”, Grassley said in a statement.