On Tuesday, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alab.) finally decided to lift the block he had imposed on hundreds of senior military promotions for several months. This action paves the way for a vote to progress with nominations, potentially taking place on the same afternoon.
After a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans, Tuberville addressed reporters, stating, “I’m not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer. We just released them—about 440 of them—everybody but 10 or 11 four-stars. Those will continue to have a hold, and we’re going to ask Sen. Schumer to bring them up one at a time.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed his hope that the Senate could vote on military nominations later that Tuesday. He also emphasized his desire that no senator would employ blanket holds in the manner Tuberville did, causing disruptions for months.
Schumer commented on Tuberville’s strategy, stating, “And I hope they learn the lesson of Sen. Tuberville. And that is he held out for many, many months, hurt our national security, caused discombobulation to so many military families who’ve been so dedicated to our country and didn’t get anything that he wanted. It’s a risky strategy that will not succeed. I hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Tuberville initially initiated the block on military promotions in February as a protest against a Pentagon abortion policy. This move compelled the Senate to address nominations individually to move them forward. Despite the growing number of stalled nominations, Schumer maintained that Tuberville’s hold was an issue for Senate Republicans to resolve within their conference.
In recent weeks, the Senate began breaking Tuberville’s logjam by utilizing cloture petitions to force votes, allowing some confirmations, including that of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown, while hundreds remained in limbo.
