Senators plan to unblock military promotions as Tuberville GOP draws Ire

Senate Democrats are trying a new strategy to break Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s block on top military promotions, as pressure mounts among his fellow Republicans and Defense Department officials to end his months-long hold in protest of the Pentagon access policy to abortion.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and majority leader, said Wednesday he would seek to change the chamber’s rules to allow the confirmation of nearly all military nominees as a bloc. Voting could take place as early as next week.

That would restore what was routine practice in the Senate before Mr. Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, held up a package of officer promotions in February over a Pentagon policy that offered time off and travel reimbursement to service members seeking abortion or fertility care.

While it is not clear that Mr. Schumer will win support for his maneuver, he announced he would try, amid growing frustration among Republicans and at the Defense Department over Mr. Tuberville’s nine-month blockade .

Anger within the Pentagon over the hold has only increased this week after Gen. Eric M. Smith, the newly confirmed commander of the Marine Corps, suffered an apparent heart attack. Some lawmakers and military officials have suggested that General Smith’s collapse was due to his extra workload, as Mr. Tuberville’s tactics have blocked his deputy’s confirmation.

“What happened to the Navy commander showed a lot of people how dangerous what Tuberville is doing is,” Mr. Schumer said.

(Mr. Tuberville said this week that he would not object to the nomination of Lt. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney as the next assistant commander of the Marine Corps, given Mr. Smith’s illness. The Senate was expected to vote later would vote on Mr. Mahoney’s appointment Thursday.)

In a clear sign that pressure is mounting, a handful of Republicans took to the Senate on Wednesday evening to castigate Mr. Tuberville for his tactics, which has filled more than 350 senior military positions. One by one, they tried to call up dozens of open promotions for military officers, insisting that he stop blocking them — which he repeatedly refused to do.

“Whether you believe it or not, Senator Tuberville, this is wreaking havoc on our military,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said in such a speech Wednesday evening. “If this becomes normal, God help the military, because any of us could find a reason to object to the policy.”

The policy Tuberville is targeting, which was announced in February, allows military personnel to take leave and be reimbursed for transportation costs if they need to travel to undergo an abortion or certain fertility treatments, because such procedures are not available are where they are located. It came in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, prompting many states to ban or severely restrict the procedure.

The spectacle on the floor marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, in which Republicans who publicly defended Tuberville’s actions and blamed Democrats and the Pentagon for failing to accommodate him privately pleaded with the Alabama senator to relent to give.

Mr. Tuberville’s refusal to do so could prompt some Republican senators to join Democrats in overruling his protest.

“The dam is starting to break,” said Senator Dan Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, who has led fruitless behind-the-scenes talks with Mr. Tuberville and is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. “All attempts at compromise are making no progress, and the readiness issues are very real.”

No Republican has yet agreed to change the Senate’s rules, an idea floated by Senators Jack Reed, Rhode Island Democrat and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona independent. It would allow all candidates to become generals and admirals, except for joint chiefs of staff and combatant commanders, who are appointed jointly.

Since Mr. Tuberville took office, the Senate has confirmed five senior officers as Joint Chiefs, including Admiral Lisa Franchetti as the next Chief of Naval Operations and General David W. Allvin as the next Chief of Staff of the Air Force. both received near-unanimous confirmation on Thursday.

But bringing up and approving any promotion would take enormous amounts of time in the Senate, crowding out legislative business and confirmations for the rest of the federal government.

The rule change would require 60 votes to pass, and several Republicans strongly oppose it.

“I’m not in favor of a rule change,” said Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, adding, “I think what we’re seeing here is that once a precedent is set with a rule change, it’s a slippery slope to other changes.” , which I think we threaten the institution.”

Over the past decade, through a series of partisan rule changes, the Senate has dismantled rules that required 60 votes to confirm executive and judicial branch nominees, which are now approved by a simple majority.

“What goes around comes around, and you know what,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, noting he was wary of a rule change. “The other side loves it when they do it, but doesn’t like it when it’s done to them.”

But from their private conversations, some Democrats say Republicans can be persuaded to join them. It would take nine Republican senators to join the House’s 49 Democrats and two independents to support the procedural end around Mr. Tuberville.

“A number of them want to take the plunge together,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, who helped draft the rule change proposal, adding: “Until there is a public commitment or a vote from each of those nine, we will We are still counting.”

On Wednesday evening, Mr Tuberville rejected 61 separate requests to have the nominees confirmed.

“I will hold my position until the Pentagon follows the law or the Democrats change the law,” he declared.

Despite their palpable frustration, none of the five Republicans who challenged Tuberville Wednesday night pledged to sign the rule change.

“I hope we can find an alternative to that, but something has to be done,” Mr Graham said.

Still, Senator Todd Young, Republican of Indiana, said he had not ruled it out, and neither have other Republicans.

“I don’t like Mr. Tuberville’s technique for getting his point across, and frankly I think it’s reaching a breaking point,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia. “So we’ll see if the resolution comes through.”

Helene Kuiper reporting contributed.