Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville reportedly loosened his grip on holding Senate approval for military promotions en masse after months of blocking them until the Pentagon makes internal changes to its abortion policy.
“I’m not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer,” Tuberville told reporters on Tuesday. “We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military, fighting back against executive overreach and an abortion policy.”
Tuberville held up approval of mass military promotions since February, a blockade used to persuade changes to a Department of Defense (DoD) policy that reimburses military members who travel out of state for abortions. The Pentagon invoked the policy after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, leaving the issue of abortion legality and limits up to state governments.
Tuberville’s hold did not block military promotions entirely. The Senate considered approving promotions one at a time while Democrats brought some cases up for a vote for certain top-level positions. However, Tuberville’s hold prevented voting on multiple cases simultaneously as a time-saving move.
“I think we saw some success,” Tuberville reportedly said. “We didn’t get as much out of it as we wanted. But again, when they change the rules on you, I had no opportunity to, other than possibly down the road, a lawsuit, but that has nothing to do with the holds. That needs to be done in a separate way.”
Tuberville suggested his efforts didn’t get the result intended, noting that the policy is still “bad.”
“We tried to stand up for the taxpayers of this country,” he said.
Tuberville reportedly plans to hold his four-star nominees, but intends to release the rest effective immediately, allowing the Senate to confirm most of the promotions as soon as Tuesday evening and likely before the beginning of 2024.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY) told reporters the chamber of Congress will move “as soon as possible” to confirm the promotions.
The Wall Street Journal reported that as of November 27, the hold on promotions impacted at least 451 generals and admirals who waited in limbo for nearly ten months.
A U.S. Defense official reportedly said 11 of those on hold are four-star admirals or generals.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters the news of Tuberville’s lift encouraged the Defense Department.
“We’ll continue to stay engaged with Sen. Tuberville in the Senate directly to urge that all the holds on all our general flag officer nominations be lifted, to include those nominated for four-star,” he said.
Following the publication of this article, Senate lawmakers approved more than 400 promotions for senior military officers.
Schumer reportedly moved to quickly confirm the list of generals and admirals, which were approved with unanimous consent.
“Hundreds — hundreds — of military families across the country can breathe a sigh of relief,” Schumer said, calling Tuberville’s blockade a “pointless and gravely damaging ordeal” that should never have happened.
“Let this incident be a warning: No one — no one — should attempt this in the Senate again,” Schumer said.
Tim Pierce contributed to this report.