Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is ending his nearly 10-month blockade on military promotions, releasing his holds on all but 4-star generals and officers. He and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) estimate the remaining holds apply to 10 nominees, freeing up hundreds of promotions — 3-star and below — to move forward.
Tuberville launched the blockade over his opposition to recent changes in Pentagon policy that included reimbursing service members for travel to receive abortions. That policy remains, but Tuberville faced growing pressure from both parties to drop his protest.
That pressure “only increased as Senate Democrats planned to hold a vote in the coming weeks that would temporarily change the rules of the upper chamber in order to advance the more than 400 nominees that were being affected,” The Hill’s Al Weaver noted.
Several Senate Republicans opposed Tuberville’s holds but also opposed changing the Senate rules to get around them.
“There’s no reason. We’re not the House,” Tuberville said. “We keep the rules the way they are.”
The chamber took action on a few top military posts in one-off votes amid his hold.
