Senate

McConnell moves to force vote on Trump’s counterterrorism nominee

by Jordain Carney 12/17/18 08:43 PM CST

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moved on Monday to force a vote on President Trump’s counterterrorism pick, whose nomination has languished in the Senate for months.

McConnell filed cloture Monday on Joseph Maguire’s nomination to be director of the National Counterterrorism Center. The move tees up an initial vote on his nomination as early as Wednesday.

{mosads}The decision to bring Maguire up on the Senate floor comes as lawmakers are trying to wrap up their work for the year: In addition to preventing a partial government shutdown by Friday night, senators are voting this week on a White House-backed criminal justice reform bill.

Two sources told The Hill last month that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had placed a hold on Maguire’s nomination, forcing McConnell to decide to either dedicate days of floor time to the pick or kick work on the nomination until next year.

Dozens of nominations are typically cleared by unanimous consent or voice vote before a major break, but any one individual senator can block the request under Senate rules.

Maguire cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee in July. He has the backing of committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who tweeted after a committee hearing on the nomination that he’s “highly qualified” and will “benefit the Intel Community and the defense of our country.”

Trump announced in June that he would nominate Maguire for the post. Maguire was previously deputy director for strategic operations at the counterterrorism center. He retired from the Navy in 2010.