Who is Eric Garcetti? A Joe Biden loyalist, former LA mayor & now the US ambassador to India

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti presented his credentials to Indian President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital New Delhi and has officially assumed charge.

After meeting the Indian president, Garcetti said he would focus on raising the bilateral partnership to “new heights”, with both countries working together on “defining issues” of the time.

“The #USIndia partnership is vital, strong, and filled with opportunity. The bond between our countries and people's runs deep. Proud to be at the helm of the US Mission to India advancing #USIndiaTogether!” Garcetti posted on Twitter after officially taking over the post.

In March, the Biden administrationannounced that Garcetti will be its US envoy.Garcetti got the job over two-and-a-half years after his name was first announced for the post.

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Until about five years ago, Garcetti, a hardcore Joe Biden supporter, was regarded as one of the Democratic Party's young talents. However, the final years of his nine-year mayorship of Los Angeles were marred by scandals, which cost him a position in Biden's cabinet and nearly sidetracked his ambassador bid.

Garcetti's path to New Delhi was effectively sealed when the US Senate passed a cloture motion on it. A cloture motion is adopted when a supermajority supports the issue at hand and limits further debate by minority members.

Even as the World Hindu Council of America (WHCA) campaigned against Eric Garcetti's nomination for the post of Washington DC envoy to New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government welcomed the confirmation of his appointment by the US.

“We welcome the confirmation of Eric Garcetti as the US Ambassador to India. We look forward to working with him to take forward the multifaceted bilateral relations,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi.

Who is Eric Garcetti? New US ambassador to India

Eric Michael Garcetti was designated as the US ambassador to India in March 15, 2023. He previously served as Los Angeles' 42nd mayor from 2013 to 2022. He was elected as a member of the Democratic Party in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017. Garcetti, a former member of the Los Angeles City Council, was President of the Council from 2006 to 2012. He was the city's first elected Jewish mayor and its second Mexican-American mayor in a row. He was 42 at the time of his inauguration, making him the youngest mayor in over 100 years.

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The 52-year-old was raised in the San Fernando Valley and received his BA and MA from Columbia University. He attended Oxford and the London School of Economics as a Rhodes Scholar and taught at Occidental College and USC. He was a reserve officer in the US Navy for 12 years and "is an avid jazz pianist and photographer," according to his website. He and his wife, Amy Elaine Wakeland, have a daughter.

While he was praised for instituting a $15 minimum wage, improving Los Angeles' transit system and making it more earthquake-resistant, and providing residents with regular briefings during the Covid pandemic, he was chastised for the city's homelessness crisis.

During the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd, he was rebuked by both the Left and the Right for attempting to find a middle ground between the "defund the police" calls. Corruption allegations at the City Council cast even more doubt on his track record.

However, the biggest setback for him came in the form of sexual misconduct allegations against an aide, whom Garcetti was accused of not acting against.

What was the Rick Jacobs sexual scandal?

Matthew Garza, a police officer and Garcetti's bodyguard, filed a lawsuit against Rick Jacobs, a key aide to Garcetti, in 2020. Jacobs allegedly touched Garza inappropriately and made "crude sexual remarks," according to Garza.

Jacobs then resigned from his position. Garcetti has repeatedly stated that he is unaware of the alleged misconduct. His opponents, on the other hand, have claimed that he either knew about the allegations or did nothing about them, or that he was unaware of what was going on in his team.

Eric Garcetti’s relation with India

The WHCA had petitioned the US Senate to reject Garcetti's nomination. It claimed that Garcetti had demonstrated a "poor understanding" of India while testifying before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in December 2021, during his previous failed attempt to confirm the appointment.

When asked about the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) introduced by the Modi government, human rights violations, and alleged persecution of Muslims in India, Garcetti told a Senate committee that all of these issues would remain at the forefront of his engagements with New Delhi during his tenure as US ambassador to India.

The video of Garcetti’s December 2021 testimony resurfaced in social media recently, with several netizens denouncing his comments.

Garcetti is now going to lead the US embassy, which did not have a full-time ambassador at its helm since Biden succeeded Donald Trump in January 2021.

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