[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5336-S5337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             CLOTURE MOTION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of Executive Calendar No. 551, Margaret L. Taylor, of 
     Maryland, to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
         Charles E. Schumer, Benjamin L. Cardin, Alex Padilla, 
           Christopher A. Coons, Christopher Murphy, Chris Van 
           Hollen, Richard J. Durbin, Jeanne Shaheen, Jack Reed, 
           Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley, Catherine Cortez Masto, 
           Margaret Wood Hassan, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tim Kaine, 
           Richard Blumenthal, Brian Schatz.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. RISCH. I ask for up to 5 minutes, equally divided for myself and 
Senator Cardin, prior to the rollcall vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    Nomination of Margaret L. Taylor

  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the nomination of 
Margaret Taylor to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
  While serving as general counsel at USAID, some USAID contractors and 
partners repeatedly promoted abortion overseas in violation of clear 
U.S. law. The legal office is responsible for interpreting how, when, 
and where U.S. laws are applied across the full range of U.S. 
diplomatic engagement and foreign assistance programs.
  Given her negligence in applying longstanding, clear-cut laws 
restricting abortion advocacy at USAID and the lack of enforcement, I 
have zero confidence in her willingness and ability to manage this 
enormous responsibility at the Department of State.
  In addition to these concerns, I have an even additional reason for 
that, and that is the fact that the State Department refuses to share 
the information about Rob Malley's suspended security clearance. Mr. 
Malley was U.S. Special Envoy to Iran and was engaged in back-channel 
talks with the regime. Last April, his security clearance was suspended 
without explanation.
  For over a year now, I and Democrats have asked for information on 
the suspension: Can the Department confirm

[[Page S5337]]

Mr. Malley mishandled classified information by storing secret 
documents in his personal email? Did he send this information to anyone 
before he was allegedly hacked and information was stolen? Why hasn't 
the Department of Justice charged him?
  I get no answers to these; neither do the Democrats. The State 
Department admits they have this information but refuses to give it to 
us.
  In light of all of the above, I cannot support and will not vote for 
Ms. Taylor's nomination and encourage my colleagues to do likewise.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, first I have got to acknowledge that I am 
not objective when it comes to Margaret Taylor, since I have had a 
chance to work with her. When I was the ranking member of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, she was the legal counsel for the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee for the Democrats. She was well respected 
in the legal advice that she gave us, both to Republicans and 
Democrats, and well respected by all Members of our committee. She is 
an outstanding public servant and is desperately needed to have a 
confirmed position for legal counsel in the State Department.
  And, I must tell you, it is no surprise that all of the living former 
Legal Advisers, from Reagan to Trump--40 years, Democrats and 
Republicans--wrote to our committee to strongly endorse her and urge 
her prompt confirmation.
  In regards to the two points that Senator Risch has raised, one in 
regards to the interpretation of reproductive rights, she advised full 
compliance with U.S. law, including relating to statutory restrictions 
on foreign assistance related to reproductive health. It is the same 
advice that was given by general counsel to the Trump administration. 
There was no difference between the two administrations.
  And as for the issue concerning Mr. Malley, that issue was 6 months 
before this nomination was considered.
  This nomination needs to be confirmed. We need to have a confirmed 
person in this position. There has been no substantive argument as to 
why she should not be confirmed. She is highly qualified.
  I urge my colleagues to support the nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 
call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of Margaret L. Taylor, of Maryland, to be Legal Adviser of 
the Department of State, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Lee), the Senator 
from Kansas (Mr. Marshall), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Tuberville), 
and the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Vance).
  Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Kansas (Mr. 
Marshall) would have voted ``nay.''
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 51, nays 43, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 217 Ex.]

                                YEAS--51

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Butler
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Fetterman
     Gillibrand
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hickenlooper
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Kelly
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lujan
     Manchin
     Markey
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Ossoff
     Padilla
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warnock
     Warren
     Welch
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--43

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Boozman
     Braun
     Britt
     Budd
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Daines
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagerty
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lummis
     McConnell
     Moran
     Mullin
     Paul
     Ricketts
     Risch
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Schmitt
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Wicker
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Cruz
     Lee
     Marshall
     Menendez
     Tuberville
     Vance
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 
43.
  The motion is agreed to.

                          ____________________