Report: Democrats Say Eric Garcetti’s Nomination as Ambassador to India is Dead

Senate Democrats have reportedly said Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to be the ambassador to India is “dead” after sitting in limbo for months amid Republican opposition and allegations that the mayor witnessed a former aide sexually harass a police officer.

Senate Democrats have privately told Punchbowl News that Garcetti’s ambassadorship to India is “dead” or “withering on the vine.” Since his nomination was left out of the nominees that the Senate approved last December, he will now have to wait until late April or May at the earliest. And that is if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the White House can scrounge up the votes with the Republican opposition.

The White House said that President Joe Biden had maintained his confidence in the confirmation process for Garcetti — who was President Joe Biden’s former campaign co-chair. Garcetti was nominated last July.

“His nomination advanced unanimously with bipartisan support in committee, a Biden White House spokesman added. “The White House and the State Department are making calls to senators and working to earn bipartisan support for his nomination. He should receive a vote in the Senate expeditiously.”

While many of Biden’s nominees have faced Republican opposition, Garcetti is facing opposition from both Iowa senators — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) — due to the allegations that he tolerated sexual harassment in his office, although he has denied the allegation.

A top Garcetti aide Rick Jacobs has faced numerous allegations of sexual harassment, including claims made by an officer from the Los Angeles Police Department that was assigned to the mayor’s detail, Matthew Garza, who has sued the city over the claim, and his one-time spokesperson, Naomi Seligman.

Grassley told Punchbowl the nomination would have to wait until he can review the 310 pages report on the incident, which supposedly clears him. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times reported that the mayor’s office turned over a “nonpublic, city-ordered report into allegations of sexual harassment in his office to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee” before the committee voted on Garcetti’s nomination in January.

However, while Garcetti’s nomination has been suffering from “neglect,” he’s enjoyed not-so-favorable media coverage of his hypocrisy at the Super Bowl game last month. In attendance of the game, Garcetti forwent wearing a face mask, breaking his own mask mandate for the second time. The mayor also was caught taking a maskless picture with former NBA star Magic Johnson; Garcetti claimed he was holding his breath.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.