Garcetti’s Ambassador to India Vote Expected Tuesday

In what could be a sign the votes might astonishingly be there to confirm former Los Angles Mayor Eric Garcetti as the next ambassador to India, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed for “cloture” on the nomination today.

The move by Schumer means that – after nearly two years – a full and final Senate vote on Garcetti will almost assuredly occur Tuesday, March 14.

The quick filing  – Garcetti’s nomination passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee only yesterday by a 13-8 vote – by Schumer could mean he is confident that Garcetti has the necessary votes to be confirmed.

Attempts to contact Schumer’s office for comment have so far been unsuccessful, though Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young’s office confirmed that he will vote for Garcetti.

Young was one of the two Republicans on the committee that voted to send the Garcetti nomination to the floor of the senate.

Schumer’s move to rush the vote drew concern from many quarters, including the advocacy group Whistleblower Aid, which has help spearhead the effort to make Senators aware of the details of Garcetti’s egregious conduct in regard to the gross sexual harassment and racism allegations made against his top political fixer, Rick Jacobs.

“We agree this is a vacancy that should be filled as soon as possible, but not like this,” said whistleblower and former Garcetti communications director Naomi Seligman after yesterday’s vote. “The Senate has the power to demand a nominee who has not enabled a sexual predator and has not lied about it under oath. We urge Senators of both parties to use that power and do the right thing when the nomination comes up for a vote. It is not too late to send a qualified nominee to New Delhi instead of Eric Garcetti.”

Jacobs has been credibly accused by a number of other former Garcetti staffers of aggressive fondling, unwanted kissing, and racist comments (for a deeper dive into the details, see here.)  

Despite this being public knowledge, Biden nominated Garcetti for the post, though he did, reportedly, pass him over for other administration spots.

Garcetti previously testified to the Senate committee that he was unaware of even the allegations against – let alone the actions – of Jacobs.  That testimony was met with significant skepticism and, along with new information presented by a number of whistleblowers, sparked an investigation by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R).  The investigation found that Garcetti’s testimony before the committee was almost certainly false.

This story will be updated as needed if and when further information and/or Senator comments arrive.