Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced that he will bring a resolution to the Senate floor to address the military promotions block imposed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, has been holding up over 300 promotions due to his objections to the military’s reproductive rights policy.
The resolution, introduced by Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed, aims to expedite the processing of promotions by allowing them to be done en bloc. Schumer has stated that he will bring the resolution to the floor once it clears the Senate Rules Committee, which will determine the necessary parameters for its passage.
This move follows the advancement of three military promotions on Wednesday that were previously held up by Tuberville. In response, Tuberville’s office released a statement claiming that he had forced Schumer’s hand on these nominations.
Since February, Tuberville has been blocking military promotions due to a Department of Defense policy that reimburses travel costs for military members seeking reproductive care outside their stationed state. This policy was implemented after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and leave the matter of abortion to individual states.
Schumer’s action, however, does not address the underlying policy that Tuberville has taken issue with. Previously, Democrats had resisted moving forward with the nominations to exert political pressure on Tuberville. However, in light of ongoing international conflicts and the hospitalization of a senior military commander, they have reversed their stance.
Schumer emphasized the importance of fully staffing and equipping the military to defend the American people in his floor remarks. He took steps on Tuesday to advance the nominations of Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Gen. David Allvin, and Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to key positions in the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, respectively.
The confirmations of Franchetti and Allvin would complete the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while Mahoney’s confirmation has become more urgent due to the hospitalization of Gen. Eric Smith, the Marine Corps commandant.
It should be noted that CNN’s Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters, readers can create an account at CNN.com.
