Tauscher Bids House Adieu, but Won’t Resign Until After Climate Vote
Roll Call Staff
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) bid her House colleagues adieu on the House floor today following her Senate confirmation Thursday night to a State Department gig — but she’s not leaving just yet.
Instead, Tauscher, the go-to Democrat for presiding over tough debates, is hanging around for the rest of the day to oversee floor action on the contentious climate change bill set for a vote this afternoon. Tauscher is then expected to vote in favor of the measure to help Democratic leaders edge it across the finish line.
Tauscher will resign her House seat as early as this evening to take on her post as undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) had been preventing Tauscher’s confirmation for nearly a month because of concerns over the Obama administration’s ongoing negotiations with Russia on strategic arms reductions. Kyl dropped his hold on the nomination Thursday, but he had previously charged that the administration had not been properly informing the Senate of the ongoing discussions.
Tauscher’s State Department position includes jurisdiction over treaty negotiations.
The Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved Tauscher, a seven-term House Member, for the State job last month.
Taylor: Preventing Another Underwear Bomber
March 19, 4:09 p.m.
The intelligence community faces challenges daily. No example is more emblematic of the problems faced than the so-called underwear bomber of 2009. As threats emerge, the hunt for “persons of interest” must occur in a more reliable and efficient manner because the consequences of inaction can be catastrophic. Read Full Article
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