US Senate Foreign Relation Committee to vote on Gracetti's nomination for Indian ambassadorship today

By Reena Bhardwaj
Washington, [US], January 12 : Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his hearing to become Ambassador to India, according to the schedule listed by the Committee on the US Senate website.
After more than six months of Garcetti's nomination as Ambassador to India was announced by the White House, the Committee has scheduled the hearing at 9 AM and will vote on the mayors nomination.
If approved by the Senate Foreign Affairs committee, Garcetti's nomination goes to the full Senate.
Wednesday's hearing will be chaired by Senator Menendez, the committee is made up of 22 senators -- an even split of Democrats and Republicans.
Joe Biden's nominee to be Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Armin Blome; Amy Gutmann, the President's pick for ambassador to Germany; Christopher Hill nominee to be Ambassador to Serbia and others are also scheduled to appear before the panel at the hearing.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on December 14, was questioned by lawmakers weighing his nomination to become the US ambassador to India. Gracetti during his testimony gave a statement followed by questions from lawmakers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Few nations are more vital to the future of American security and prosperity than India," Garcetti told the committee.
During the December hearing chaired again by Sen. Menendez, a Democrat lawmaker from New Jersey, along with only a handful of Democrats and two Republicans, stressed how Washington sees India as a key partner in its effort to push back against China's expanding power and influence.
"If confirmed, I will endeavor to advance our ambitious bilateral partnership united by a free and open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, Gracetti had said in his remarks.
"If confirmed, I intend to double-down on our efforts to strengthen India's capacity to secure its borders, defend its sovereignty, and deter aggression - through information sharing, counterterrorism coordination."
Known to be President Bidens close aide, Gracetti is a political appointee who in the past has served as a co-chair of Biden's presidential campaign. In announcing his nomination, the White House emphasized Garcetti's role in co-founding the bipartisan "Climate Mayors" network and in leading more than 400 U.S. mayors to adopt the Paris Climate Agreement.
According to sources, the White House strongly considers Gracetti to have a steady hand to guide the India-US relationship because Washington sees India as a key partner in its effort to push back against China's expanding power and influence.
Garcetti, a Biden loyalist has served as mayor of Los Angeles since 2013. The mayor has a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and he studied international relations as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University.
The White House statement released earlier this year said Gracetti had spent 12 years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve Component, serving under the commander of the US Pacific Fleet and with the Defense Intelligence Agency, before retiring in 2017 as a lieutenant.