It took nearly two years, but former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti finally got the job.

The Senate voted 52 to 42 on Wednesday to confirm Garcetti as the next US ambassador to India. Seven Republicans joined all but three Democrats in attendance in approving him for the post.

The former mayor had to fight for his new performance. President Biden selected Garcetti, a close political ally, for the plum ambassador post in July 2021, but the nomination quickly stalled. Biden’s Democratic allies on Capitol Hill expressed concern about whether Garcetti knew or should have known about alleged sexual harassment of colleagues by a former top aide.

In the end, Biden’s unwavering loyalty to Garcetti likely saved the former mayor’s confirmation. By refusing to let his ally down, even nominating him a second time when the new Congress began this year, and leaving a key ambassadorship vacant for record time, Biden created an unlikely showdown with the Democrats in the Senate.

Once Biden nominated him for the second time, it was clear that this was a priority for him and it would now get pretty embarrassing if we couldn’t confirm a nominee for one of our key allies for three years, Senator Christopher S. said. Murphy (D-Conn.), serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee

with jurisdiction over the US

relations with India, has long wanted an ambassador in its place.

The heat had clearly come down on us this year and I’m glad my colleagues took the opportunity.

Garcetti also had help from

the

Republicans

who The seven GOP senators who supported the nomination on the Senate floor said they

crossed the aisle to support

are Garcetti’s

nomination in hopes of strengthening the relationship between the US and India

, they said? I don’t have everyone saying this, but I’m comfortable with the generalization

.

During the lengthy process, Garcetti never considered retiring, and Biden never asked him to, the former mayor said in a statement

letter

interview

Wednesday

I checked in with him to make sure he still wanted me, Garcetti said,

Do not say

he did not want to block the president’s foreign agenda. I can tell you unequivocally, he said, Eric, I’m still behind you 100%.

“

A longtime politician, but one who admitted he had few relationships in Washington besides President Garcetti, acknowledged that it took time

for him

to meet with senators, arrange meetings, and convey his response to the allegations surrounding former aide, Rick Jacobs.

When they looked at my qualifications, they looked at the evidence, it wasn’t a tough vote, he said.

::

At first, it looked like Garcetti’s nomination would come through

Washington

. He cleared his first Senate Foreign Relations Committee

to vote

by the end of 2021 without any outspoken opposition, signaling a clear path to final approval on the Senate floor.

But soon, talk around Jacobs that he sexually harassed colleagues in Garcetti’s office and that the former mayor knew, or should have known, spread across the country to Washington. Democrats were concerned that supporting Garcetti would violate their explicit zero-tolerance policy on harassment.

When

short

asked about

what matters

at his 2021 commission hearing, Garcetti said he didn’t know

about Jacobs’ alleged behavior

and that if he had, he would have done something

about the

. Separately, Jacobs denied the allegations

at

.

In early 2022, complaints about Garcetti’s handling of the Jacobs case grew louder.

Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said a whistleblower contacted his office with allegations that Garcetti knew of Jacob’s actions. He announced an investigation and stopped the nomination, a reminder that he

would

block

edit

any attempt to speed up the nomination. Other Republicans followed suit.

The hold

referred to

that if the Democrats wanted to bring the nomination to the table,

she

would

have to hold

two votes instead of one and

like

tie up

valuable

floor time. Senate Democrats didn’t want to

spend eat up valuable floor

time on a nomination that some of their members found controversial

to start with

.

Several Democrats went public and said they weren’t sure they could give Garcetti a possible death blow

for his nomination

in the chamber then split evenly at 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats (including the independents conferring with them).

Biden was very, very involved throughout the process, according to a White House official

who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the nomination

.

We had our costs, the official said.

Biden watched this closely for a long time and was a part of it and we just drove.

The White House sent an unmistakable message to the Hill:

Unlike other controversial nominees,

to pray

What

stick to Garcetti. There was no plan B.

So

If this vote failed, it would have started from scratch, Murphy said. Realistically, that would have meant the post would remain vacant for the rest of this year. That’s just putting it together wrong after wrong.

Garcetti and his allies stepped up the pressure, sometimes in unconventional ways.

He made regular trips to Washington, sometimes approaching senators without an appointment, according to several people familiar with his actions. In one instance, Garcetti allies left Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) under the impression that the senator would be cut off from Garcetti’s valuable donor network if he voted no, according to Politico.

Kelly ultimately voted against the nomination.

Garcetti said he has enthusiastic friends and he

only

only asked his allies to make proposals.

The former mayors

parents hired lobbyists to win his confirmation.

Even in Washington,

lobbyists are rarely hired to mentor candidate ambassadors and even more rarely are hired by a candidate’s parents. In 2022 alone

Garcetti’s parents

spent $90,000 on the effort, according to federal documents.

WATCH THIS SENTENCE UNTIL JEN WRITES OFF Garcetti said Wednesday that his family hired lobbyists to ensure that people who would advocate for him anyway were properly paid and recognized for their work.

Garcetti leaned on the few Washington friends he had, such as Senator Cory Booker (DN.J.), who

has known

Garcetti

for decades.

Booker missed the vote Wednesday, but told Garcetti he was urging colleagues to vote yes from his cell phone on Amtrak.

Other senators, including Murphy and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is close to Biden, urged their colleagues that it’s important to have someone confirmed in the job.

Republicans interested in the US-India relationship echoed that

message

. The Biden administration and my colleagues here have taken far too long to fulfill what I believe is one of the most vital ambassadorships we have, said Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the Republicans who voted for Garcetti.

But late last year, when the Biden administration was half way through, can we be more literal here? / I don’t have an exact point next to the time reference in the following chart. if it’s superfluous or too vague, we can slow down the unmistakable ticking of the clock. We don’t actually need this transition.

Garcetti said he was patient through the ups and downs of the process as he served out the end of his mayoral term.

His successor, former Representative Karen Bass, was sworn in on December 11.

On Dec. 12, as Christmas came around, it became clear that if it’s ever going to get done, we have to do this now, he said.

A recent trip by a congressional delegation to India

led by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.)

in which Indians questioned senators about why the worlds

preeminent superpower had not yet sent an ambassador to the world’s largest democracy

strengthened Garcetti’s case.

And finally, Biden’s re-nomination of Garcetti

on the first day of the new congress this year at the beginning of this year

sent an unmistakable message.

“There was finally a decision, when the president renamed him, that he was eligible to vote,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

Garcetti’s close relationship with Biden prompted the president to call him a few hours later to congratulate him

his confirmation

Wednesday will be a benefit to the US relationship with India, Murphy said.

A country like India wants to know that when they talk to the ambassador, they’re talking to someone who has the president’s ear, Murphy said. Getting Eric confirmed was especially important because everyone knows how close he is to Biden.

Garcetti is not yet sure when he will leave for New Delhi. But he and his family are ready to leave as soon as possible, he said.

Staff writer Courtney Subramanian contributed to this report.