Biden taps LA Mayor Garcetti as ambassador to India

President Joe Biden nominated Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a rising star in his Democratic Party, to be ambassador to India, with which the United States has an increasingly close relationship, AFP reported.

Garcetti, who has led the country’s second-largest city since 2013 with a focus on improving transportation and sustainability, needs confirmation from the Senate, which appears likely.

Garcetti, who considered a 2020 White House bid and later became part of Biden’s inner circle, emerged as a widely discussed possibility to join Biden’s Cabinet last year. But he took himself out of the running, saying the raging coronavirus crisis made it impossible for him to step away.

The two-term mayor would leave LA with an uneven record.

He has been credited with continuing a transit buildup in a city choked with traffic.