House advances bid to nix salary for disgraced ex-Iran envoy Rob Malley
House lawmakers voted on a bipartisan basis Thursday to move forward with a measure that would bar disgraced ex-Iran special envoy Rob Malley from receiving a State Department salary.
The lower chamber voted 218-188 to deny any funding for the State Department to pay for the reinstatement or re-employment of Malley, who is currently on leave and being investigated by the FBI for allegedly disclosing classified material.
Eleven Democrats joined 207 Republicans to vote in favor of the amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY).
“Although he has been on unpaid leave for over a year, Malley should not be allowed to return to his post after the investigation,” Tenney told The Post.
“His continued employment in the federal government, funded by tax dollars, poses an active threat to the safety and security of the United States.”
Another 188 House Democrats opposed the measure, while 31 lawmakers did not vote.
The amendment is part of an appropriations bill — slated for final passage on Friday — that doles out more than $51 billion to fund the State Department and related programs.
Malley, who had his security clearance revoked in April 2023 and was subsequently placed on leave, shared “sensitive” and “classified” materials outside of US government channels to “advance his diplomatic efforts” with Iran, according to a probe by Republican lawmakers.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch (R-Idaho) and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) launched their own investigation into President Biden’s top Iran diplomat after the State Department was not forthcoming with information.
Their investigation uncovered “troubling allegations” that Malley stored classified material on his personal email account and cellphone — which was later accessed by a “hostile cyber actor.”
Last August, an Iranian media outlet leaked an internal State Department memo describing “serious security concerns” with Malley’s actions.
The 61-year-old had just landed a plumb gig at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) as a visiting professor and lecturer.
A subsequent announcement from the school acknowledged Malley was “on leave,” but made no mention of an investigation.
A trove of other leaked files reported by Semafor in September 2023 showed that three top aides to Malley were tied to a secretive influence operation orchestrated by Tehran’s Foreign Ministry.
The FBI later confirmed it was conducting an “ongoing” investigation into the matter.
As a top negotiator of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal, Malley had previously advocated for sanctions relief on Tehran in exchange for temporary restrictions to its nuclear program.
The Biden administration has tried and failed resurrect the agreement, from which former President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew the US in 2018.
