Garcetti India nomination clouded by uncertainty after vote

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A politically divided U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday advanced Democrat Eric Garcetti’s nomination to become ambassador to India but it remains unclear when, or if, the former Los Angeles mayor will be confirmed given the ongoing sexual harassment allegations against one of his former top aides.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 13-8, with most Republicans opposed. The vote came about 20 months after President Joe Biden initially nominated Garcetti for the job, one of the country’s highest profile diplomatic posts.

The vacancy remains a glaring diplomatic gap for the administration at a time of rising global tensions, including China’s increasingly assertive presence in the Pacific region and Russia’s war with Ukraine.

India, the world’s most populous democracy, is continuing to buy oil from Russia, while Western governments move to limit fossil fuel earnings that support Moscow’s budget, its military and its invasion of Ukraine. Russia also provides the majority of India’s military hardware.