Senate panel advances Garcetti nomination for ambassador to India

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s (D) nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to India was advanced by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the full Senate on Wednesday.

Garcetti’s approval by the committee was expected, the Los Angeles Times noted, after his hearings before panel last month were uneventful. 

“In 1992, the year I graduated from college after studying Hindi and Indian cultural and religious history, U.S.-India ties languished in the shadow of Cold War-era mistrust,” Garcetti said during his testimony in December. “The very idea of a U.S.-India strategic partnership would have been deemed laughable.”

If confirmed, Garcetti said he would aim to help India “secure its borders, defend its sovereignty, and deter aggression.”

“I acknowledge the weight and honor of responsibility as Chief of Mission for the welfare of hundreds of U.S. and thousands of locally employed staff in Embassy New Delhi and our four Consulates in India, in addition to the approximately 950,000 U.S. citizens residing in India. If confirmed, there will be no higher priority for me than the security of our Mission team and of U.S. citizens in India,” he said.

The White House announced Garcetti’s nomination in July, citing his work in overseeing “the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere, the largest municipal utility in the country, and one of the busiest airports in the world,” as part of why he was chosen.

As noted by the Times, Garcetti’s term as mayor of Los Angeles is currently set to end in December of this year. If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate, then the City Council will appoint an interim mayor.

Speaking to the Times, Garcetti said he did not know when his nomination would be brought before the Senate.

“This is totally outside my control,” he said.