Senator Sullivan, GOP colleagues try to circumvent fellow senator for military promotions votes

For months, military promotions, typically routine business for the Senate, have been at a standstill as Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has been blocking military promotions in protest to the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The move has forced hundreds of military personnel into a holding pattern, forcing less experienced leaders into top jobs, and raising concerns at the Pentagon about military readiness.

Senators from both parties have pushed back on Senator Tuberville’s actions, repeatedly going to the Senate floor to try and call up the nominations. But the senator has objected each time, remaining steadfast, saying he will not drop the holds unless majority Democrats allow a vote on the Pentagon’s policy.

His actions came to a head on Wednesday, as senators from both parties challenged Senator Tuberville on his move to prevent the promotions and rotations of nearly 400 military officers. Senators from both sides of the aisle took to the floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after the stalemate, with Senator Dan Sullivan among the fiercest speakers calling for Senator Tuberville to allow the confirmations and promotions to move ahead.

“We all know there are current holds on our military. I want the American people to know right now, 376 promotions to one-, two-, three-, and four-star generals and admirals are being held. It is estimated that, by the end of this year, 89 percent of all general officer positions in the U.S. military will be affected by the current holds from Senator Tuberville. Either the members have to be forced to retire, positions not filled, in acting capacity, or will be unable to retire--this is pretty much the entire officer corps. This is hugely disruptive to readiness.” Senator Sullivan is currently a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve with a distinguished record of military and national security service.

“Why are we putting holds on war heroes?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”

The new efforts to move the nominations came after the Marine Corps said that General Eric Smith, the commandant of the Marine Corps, was hospitalized over the weekend after “suffering a medical condition.” General Smith, who is recovering, was confirmed to the job last month, but had been holding down two high-level posts for several months because of Senator Tuberville’s holds.

Senator Tuberville said Wednesday there is “zero chance” he will drop the holds, despite several high-level vacancies and the growing backlog of nominations.

Senator Sullivan said that he has been working with his colleagues to get Senator Tuberville to change course, but has not been successful.

“I have been working with many colleagues, but especially Senator Tuberville from Alabama, side by side, for months, trying to get this reversed, trying to get compromises. At the same time, we have been telling the majority leader: Do your job. Do your job. Bring up nominees so we can vote on them.”

Senator Tuberville’s refusal to move forward with promotions began after the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, which had recognized a constitutional right to abortion. In response, the Pentagon said it would cover travel costs for service members seeking abortions and up to 21 days off.

Several states have limited abortion access since Roe was overturned, while the military argues that women service members should not be denied access to abortion services because they cannot choose where they are stationed

Senator Tuberville said Wednesday there is “zero chance” he will drop the holds. Despite several high-level vacancies and the growing backlog of nominations, he has said he will continue to hold the nominees up unless the Pentagon ends — or puts to a vote in Congress — its new policy of paying for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care. President Joe Biden’s administration instituted the policy after the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion, and some states have limited or banned the procedure.

“I cannot simply sit idly by while the Biden administration injects politics in our military from the White House and spends taxpayers’ dollars on abortion,” he said.

Senator Sullivan said his fellow senator is “100 percent wrong” that his holds are not affecting military readiness. Senator Joni Ernst — herself a former commander in the U.S. Army Reserve and Iowa Army National Guard — said the nominees are being used as “political pawns.” Utah Senator Mitt Romney advised Tuberville to try to negotiate an end to the standoff. All of them warned that good people would leave military service if the blockade continues.

As the night wore on, Senators Sullivan and Ernst continued to bring up new nominations “one by one” as Senator Tuberville had once called for, and asked why he wouldn’t allow them to go forward. Tuberville did not answer.

“I do not respect men who do not honor their word,” Senator Ernst said at one point.

Tuberville said he disagrees with the Democratic effort to try to get around his hold and pass the nominations in large groups, arguing that the workaround would “burn the city down” and take away one of the only powers that the minority party has.

“China is smiling,” Senator Sullivan said, as the United States blocks its own military heroes. “As an American, it almost wants to make you weep.”