SENATE TO VOTE ON GOTTEMOELLER NOMINATION TODAY

The Senate will vote today on the nomination of Rose Gottemoeller to be the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security after it voted yesterday to cut off debate on her nomination. The 55-45 vote yesterday  to invoke cloture and set up today’s confirmation vote came in spite of repeated Republican opposition to Gottemoeller’s nomination, primarily over concerns about Russian noncompliance with arms control treaties like the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. GOP Senators have suggested that the Administration, and Gottemoeller, did not adequately notify the Senate about potential Russian violations of the INF Treaty, but because of the change in the Senate’s filibuster rules, Republicans have been unable to block Gottemoeller’s nomination. The Administration’s chief negotiator on the New START Treaty, she was first nominated to the position in 2012, and she has had the job in an acting capacity since then.