Tempers Flare as Republicans Engage in Lengthy Senate Floor Clash over Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s Military Promotions Blockade

A group of Republican senators spent hours on Wednesday evening criticizing their fellow GOP colleague, Senator Tommy Tuberville. They expressed their frustration with Tuberville’s ongoing blockade of over 300 military promotions, arguing that it is causing significant harm to the US armed forces and could have long-term consequences.

During the heated exchange, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina stated, “There’s a reason this has not been done this way for a couple hundred years. No matter whether you believe it or not, Senator Tuberville, this is doing great damage to our military. I don’t say that lightly, I’ve been trying to work with you for nine months. Folks, if this keeps going, people are gonna leave.”

Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach, has been objecting to more than 60 individual nominations for nearly four hours on the Senate floor. His colleagues have continuously tried to persuade him to approve the promotions, but he has consistently refused to do so, leaving the senators frustrated and without any progress.

Traditionally, military promotions have been easily approved by the Senate, while procedural obstacles have been used to slow down political appointments. However, the recent floor fight revolved around Republican senators asking Tuberville for unanimous consent to expedite the promotions, a request that he has repeatedly denied for over nine months.

Tuberville’s reasoning behind the blockade stems from his belief that the Pentagon’s policy allowing service members to take leave for abortions is illegal. The Alabama Republican has vowed to continue blocking promotions until the Biden administration changes its policy, a change that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has firmly rejected.

Although the Republican lawmakers expressed their disagreement with the Pentagon’s policy, they made it clear that their patience with Tuberville has run out. Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican and US Marine Reserves colonel, labeled the opposition as “idiotic,” highlighting that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping likely take pleasure in witnessing the struggles of the US military.

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who serves in the Senate GOP leadership and is a veteran herself, emphasized the significance of service and sacrifice, possibly alluding to Tuberville’s lack of military experience.

Tuberville has also argued that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could bring the nominees up for individual votes, a suggestion that Schumer has mostly resisted. Schumer has expressed concern that forcing individual votes on the promotions would establish a new precedent that treats servicemembers similarly to Cabinet secretaries or federal judges.

The Senate floor fight occurred shortly after General Eric Smith, the Marine Corps chief, was hospitalized after filling both the No. 1 and No. 2 positions for the Marines for months due to Tuberville’s blockade. Department of Defense officials criticized Tuberville’s actions to Politico following reports of Smith’s health struggles.

Overall, the clash between Republican senators and Senator Tommy Tuberville reflects mounting frustration over his obstruction of military promotions, which is seen as detrimental to the US armed forces and their long-term readiness.