Rand Paul blocking Trump counterterrorism nominee

BY JORDAIN CARNEY
11/14/18

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is slow-walking President Trump's counterterrorism nominee, whose nomination has languished in the Senate for months.

Paul has placed a hold on Joseph Maguire's nomination to be director of the National Counterterrorism Center, two Senate sources told The Hill on Wednesday.

Paul's hold, which has not been publicly announced, prevents the Senate from voting on Maguire's nomination unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) decides to dedicate days of Senate floor time to getting him around procedural hurdles.

But if the administration wants to get him confirmed by the end of the current session of Congress, after which they will likely be forced to renominate him to the position, they'll need to work quickly.

The Senate is scheduled to be in town for less than a month before leaving for the year. They will be out of town next week before returning on Nov. 26 and are expected to recess until January beginning on Dec. 14.

It's unclear when Paul placed his hold. A Senate source told The Hill that leadership was trying to get Maguire confirmed before lawmakers left town for an abbreviated August recess but couldn't get Paul to sign off.

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https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-acti...rorism-nominee