Senator Tommy Tuberville ENDS his blockade of hundreds of military nominees: Republican relents on campaign that lasted months and delayed 400 promotions

Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday finally lifted his blockade on hundreds of military promotions after members of his own party joined Democrats in pressuring him to relent.

The Alabama Republican and former football coach used his influence to protest the Pentagon’s payment of travel expenses related to abortions, which has suspended all military promotions for 10 straight months.

He said Tuesday he would scrap most of them. Soon after, the Senate promoted some 425 military personnel in one move.

President Joe Biden welcomed the news while taking another swipe at Tuberville on an issue that has put the GOP on the defensive.

“After 10 months of undermining the military readiness and morale of our troops, Senator Tuberville of Alabama has finally released his politically motivated grip on hundreds of military nominations. The Senate has confirmed 425 highly qualified, patriotic military leaders to serve in their sacred oath to keep our country safe. These confirmations are long overdue and should never have been delayed,” Biden said in a statement.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said he would retain control of 11 4-star generals but would revoke his overall control of military promotions after a months-long blockade.

Biden didn’t seem ready to let bygones be bygones. “Our service members are the backbone of our country and deserve to receive the pay and promotions they deserve. In the end, it was all pointless. Senator Tuberville and the Republicans who supported him needlessly harmed hundreds of service members and military families and threatened our national security – all to advance the party’s agenda. I hope no one forgets what he did,” he said, adding: “Those who serve this nation deserve better.”

“Thank God, these military officers will now receive the promotions they so rightly deserve,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in Senate testimony, where he thanked senators from both parties who helped break congestion.

Tuberville’s actions affected approximately 400 officers and their families, as well as lower-ranking officers in the military. Pentagon leaders said the hijackings threatened national security.

“I think I still have 11 four-star generals in my hands. I have completely released everyone else,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“I hope no one forgets what he did,” President Biden gushed in a statement in which he also celebrated the end of the Tuberville blockade.

“It was practically a draw. They didn’t get what they wanted. We didn’t get what we wanted,” he said.

His retreat comes without winning political concessions, although he faces the threat that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer will introduce a proposal that would end his blockade.

“We got everything we could,” he said.

His tactics drew an angry pushback from the White House, which highlighted the strain on the command structure and military families amid the war in Ukraine and threats in the Pacific exacerbated by Israel’s war with Hamas. President Biden has called his views on military promotions “ridiculous.”

Tuberville, a social conservative from Alabama, began blocking confirmations to top Pentagon positions in March to protest a Pentagon policy passed last year that provides paid leave and reimbursement to military personnel who travel for abortions.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was preparing to take action that would circumvent Tuberville’s blockade.

Tuberville delayed military promotion by 10 months

The policy came after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, leaving some service members stuck on bases where they did not have access to the procedure.

Democrats said Tuberville should demonstrate his dissent on policy issues by targeting Biden’s political nominees rather than non-political military officials.

Last week, he signaled he might finally give in after Senate Republicans spoke out to highlight military nominees who failed to fill their new posts or whose families were unable to enroll in new schools while the political knot persisted. . confused.

“Whether you believe it or not, Senator Tuberville, this does enormous damage to our military,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a Donald Trump ally like Tuberville who represents a state with a strong military presence.

“Why would you punish them for something they had nothing to do with?” asked Graham.

“Guys, if this continues, people will leave,” he said.

“I know these people need to be promoted,” Tuberville said last week.