Eric Garcetti
Eric Garcetti: New US Ambassador to India is a controversial figure – here’s why
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On March eight, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-eight to strengthen the nomination of Eric Garcetti because the US ambassador to India, extra than 1.five years after he changed into to start with taken into consideration for the function. The former mayor of Los Angeles changed into nominated via way of means of President Joe Biden in July 2021 for this prestigious diplomatic role.
Six extra nominations had been in advance placed on preserve via way of means of Senator Marco Rubio, consisting of that of Richard Verma, a former US ambassador to India, simply days previous to a listening to earlier than the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The preserve on Garcetti`s nomination changed into positioned via way of means of Senator Rubio on February 25, mentioning his situation over “credible sexual attack accusations in his earlier office.” The allegations contain Garcetti`s former aide, Rick Jacobs, who has been accused of giving human beings unsolicited hugs, massages and lewd intercourse banter.
The claims had been added to mild via way of means of a former bodyguard of Garcetti, Matthew Garza, who filed a sexual harassment case in opposition to Jacobs, doubtlessly unfavorable Garcetti`s probabilities for a Cabinet function earlier than and the ambassadorial function after that.
Further claims in opposition to Jacobs surfaced in diverse press reviews and deposition testimony, main to extra human beings coming ahead to stage comparable prices in opposition to him.
Garcetti has maintained that he changed into now no longer aware about any sexual misconduct via way of means of Jacobs and has testified beneathneath oath to this impact in the front of the Senate. However, in May 2022, Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley in a document said it changed into “extraordinarily unlikely” that Garcetti changed into blind to the aide`s alleged irrelevant behaviour.
The White House has expressed its assist for Garcetti, declaring that “some of the claims have already been conclusively debunked via way of means of extra critical unbiased reviews” and that President Biden backs him. Nonetheless, the sexual harassment allegations in opposition to Garcetti`s former aide did create a cloud of uncertainty over his nomination.
