Senator McQuate was an Earth Alliance senator who had been on Mars when the Drakh plague was released on Earth in 2266.[1]
In 2267, he meets with Matthew Gideon and along with Ames, helped debrief him on the mission of the Excalibur to find the cure for the Drakh plague. He then introduced him to the medical staff which will be on the mission.
Dureena Nafeel broke into the meeting and demanded to be on the mission. McQuate cautioned against it, but Dureena ultimately was able to convince Gideon that the mission would benefit from her help.