GOTTEMOELLER, ROSE CLEARED BY SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS PANEL

A pair of key State Department arms control nominees were cleared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Rose Gottemoeller, the President’s nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Frank Rose, Obama’s pick to be Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance, were cleared by the committee in a voice vote. The committee delayed a vote on Gottemoeller and Rose last month due to Republican concerns about a lack of commitment from the Administration to only undertake further nuclear weapons reductions through a treaty process. For many GOP senators, those concerns remain, and it’s unclear how long it might take in the full Senate for the nominees to be confirmed. Gottemoeller has been serving as the acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security since early 2012 when Ellen Tauscher left the State Department.