Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville from Alabama dropped his months-long blockade of the majority of hundreds of military promotions.
The lawmaker's efforts were made in response to a policy made after a Supreme Court ruling. Now, he told reporters that he would let go of all his holds except for four-star generals. After nine months of protest, the decision angered even his GOP colleagues.
Tuberville Ends Blockade on Most Military Promotions
Some Republican officials also expressed concern that the blockade on the promotions would affect the military readiness of the United States. Tuberville claimed that he could not continue his blockade of the promotions after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer "changed the rules" in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The senator noted that he would love to have had five downs in football instead of four but said he had to be fair to everybody. As per Fox News, Tuberville started the blockade after President Joe Biden's military promotions in February due to the Pentagon's supposedly "illegal" policy.
This policy was the provision of travel expense reimbursement to service members who are looking to get an abortion in the country. The Biden administration adopted the policy last year in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
That particular ruling overturned Roe v. Wade and held the United States Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Nearly 400 military promotions have since been placed into limbo because of Tuberville's blockade. The lawmaker's opponents argued that this left key national security positions unfilled and military families with an uncertain path moving forward.
In October, a bipartisan group of lawmakers planned to maneuver around Tuberville's efforts by introducing a rule change in the Senate Rules Committee. This would allow them to approve a batch of nominees through 2024.
A few hours after Tuberville decided to drop his hold, the Senate confirmed hundreds of top military nominations by voice vote on Tuesday evening. Schumer later took to the floor to celebrate the confirmations of the personnel and attacked Tuberville's "unsuccessful and risky strategy," according to CNN.
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Rising Bipartisan Pressure
The Senate majority leader noted that hundreds of military families across the US can finally sigh relief following their confirmations. Tuberville was later asked to send his message to military families affected by his efforts. He said, "Thank you for your service."
In a statement following the development, President Biden said that in the end, all of Tuberville's efforts were "pointless." He added that the Republican and his colleagues who supported his blockade needlessly hurt hundreds of service members and military families while also threatening the country's national security.
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said that Tubreville's reversal was "long overdue." He added that the efforts caused extreme difficulties for the military for nearly a year.
Reed noted that their goal now is to get all of the officers confirmed and never go back to such behavior that Tuberville showed. He added that military officers are not political tokens that can be moved around and played, said the New York Times.
