Senate Republicans rip Tuberville on foiled military promotions

Sen. Tommy Tuberville

(Image credit: Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)

"Republican senators ran out of patience Wednesday night with Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville's monthslong hold on hundreds of military promotions," The Wall Street Journal reported. For more than four hours, a group of GOP senators, most with military backgrounds, staged a "dramatic showdown" on the Senate floor, bringing up 61 generals and admirals whose promotions Tuberville has blocked since February — and growing increasingly angry and caustic as Tuberville, who has no military experience, objected to confirmation votes for each officer.

The senators — Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) — said they agreed with Tuberville's objection to a Pentagon policy that supports female personnel who have to travel to get abortion services — but found his methods increasingly dangerous and counterproductive.

"Xi Jinping is watching this right now, going, 'I can't believe they're not letting these guys command,'" said Sullivan, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. "He's loving this. So is [Vladimir] Putin. ... How dumb can we be, man?"

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Graham, a retired Air Force officer explained that these nearly 400 officers will be forced out if their promotions linger too long. Despite Tuberville's continuing assertions to the contrary, "this is doing great damage to our military," he said. "I have been trying to work with you for nine months."

Ernst, a retired Army officer, said Tuberville had requested "that these nominations be brought to the floor and voted on individually," and now that they were, he was still blocking them. "I really respect men of their word," she said. "I do not respect men who do not honor their word."

Tuberville said Wednesday there is "zero chance" he lifts his hold until the Pentagon changes its policy.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) filed a motion Tuesday for the Senate to vote on three Tuberville-blocked nominees as early as Thursday — Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, Gen. David Allvin to run the Air Force, and Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to fill the vacant No. 2 slot at the Marine Corps. That vacancy came into sharp relief this week when recently confirmed Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith collapsed Sunday of an apparent heart attack. Smith, who was listed in stable condition on Wednesday, had been doing the job of both commandant and assistant commandant since July, thanks to Tuberville's hold. "It is not sustainable," Smith said in September after describing his grueling schedule.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.