WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to become U.S. ambassador to India, amid allegations that he mishandled workplace misconduct and sexual harassment. ended a two-year saga of vacant diplomatic posts.

Mr. Garcetti was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 42, with several Democratic senators who expressed deep reservations who voted “no,” but a few more Republicans who voted for moving forward, in fact Garcetti’s bid was saved from collapse.

This, in the United States, one of the most populous and geopolitically important democracies in the world, has left his political power in the face of claims and a lengthy process that he left the United States without a permanent envoy. It was a victory for President Biden, who stuck to his allies.

“U.S.-India relations are very important,” New York Democrat and majority leader Sen. said it was “very important,” but specific kudos to Mr. Garcetti.

In 2019, Garcetti withdrew his candidacy for the presidency in a bid to help Biden’s campaign early, but was shortlisted for several ministerial posts until the president named him ambassador to India. was

But his nomination has been undermined as Republicans block the Senate-approved nomination for Biden.Senate Republicans investigation report Last year, it discovered “numerous credible allegations from multiple whistleblowers” of misconduct by Mr. Garcetti’s top aide, stating that “it is possible that Mayor Garcetti knew or should have personally known about the sexual harassment.” It’s high quality,” he claimed. Recognize it. “

Garcetti has consistently denied the accusations, and the White House dismissed them as partisan attacks, effectively stalling action in the Senate, leaving Garcetti’s fate up in the air. I got

Garcetti’s nomination appeared to be gaining momentum in recent days. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved it last week with the support of two Republicans, Senator Todd Young of Indiana and Senator Bill Haggerty of Tennessee. , was optimistic that the volatile nomination was on the right track.

However, resistance remained among most Republicans, and some Democrats expressed concern as the full Senate vote approached.

Biden addressed a fundraiser in Nevada on Tuesday night, calling it an “important vote.” White House officials had contacted senators to press for Garcetti’s lawsuit, hoping to give Garcetti an edge in what was expected to be a close vote. Officials in these calls emphasized his credentials and the fact that he was approved twice by the committee’s bipartisan vote.

On Wednesday, seven Republicans joined most Democrats in supporting him. Republican endorsements such as Marshall, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Hagerty, and Young were enough to push the nomination forward.

Garcetti’s supporters said they were happy the divisive battle over his nomination was over.

“This overall delay has hurt our ability to deepen our strategic partnership with India,” said California Democrat Rep. Law Khanna, co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus. “We look forward to working with Eric to strengthen our ties with India in the face of President Putin’s war and tensions with President Xi Jinping.”

Garcetti himself has never been accused of wrongdoing. However, the former member’s security details are complained to the city, accused his former deputy secretary of sexual harassment. This cop, and his second former city official, who served as his director of communications, said Rick Jacobs, a prominent Democratic fundraiser in the gay community of Los Angeles and the mayor’s chief adviser, told his men made sexual remarks or gestures and behaved inappropriately. They claimed Mr. Garcetti was aware of the complaint about it and he took no action.

In the days leading up to the vote, another person who claimed to have been harassed and assaulted by Mr. Jacobs shared a personal story with the chiefs of staff of both Democratic and Republican senators. and claimed anonymity.

These conversations seem to have upset some senators. Hirono had previously indicated plans to support Garcetti. But on Wednesday, she said in her statement, “We received additional information earlier this week that, together with the information already available, led to a ‘no’ to Mr. Garcetti’s nomination. rice field. ”

Garcetti said he “never witnessed” any alleged harassment, and none of those incidents came to his attention. He added that if he had known, he would have acted to stop it, as it is a “core issue” to him.

But his former communications director, Naomi Seligman, began pressuring him to publicly hold him accountable for misconduct in his office, and Iowa Republican Senator Charles E. Grassley filed allegations of sexual harassment. The nomination ran aground when it released a 23-page report detailing Mr. Garcetti’s former aide and the possibilities Mr. Garcetti knew or should have known.

“Senators on both sides of the aisle have seen extensive and credible evidence that Mr. Garcetti enabled sexual predators at City Hall over the years and lied about it in his confirmation hearings. “Without political pressure from the White House, this nomination would never have reached the Senate seat,” Seligman said in a statement.

The White House called the report “partisan” and “hit work from the start,” adding that “many of the allegations have already been definitively debunked by a more serious independent report.” . Mr. Garcetti’s parents (his father is a former Los Angeles County district attorney) spent at least $90,000 of his on lobbyists to defend him.

In an interview before the midterm elections, as Mr. Garcetti prepared to leave city hall, he said Mr. Biden was determined to keep the nomination and was confident it would be confirmed.

Garcetti said at the time, “In my private conversations with senators, I’ve had great bipartisan support.” “I’m still very optimistic. And the president was optimistic about me.”

The nomination ended at the end of the last Congress, and Biden re-nominated Garcetti in January.