‘TAKE ONE A WEEK, GET IT DONE’: As an infantry officer during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Capt. Mark Esper knew that sometimes it’s smarter to go around an enemy than through them. The former Army and defense secretary now says it’s time for both sides to stop jockeying for advantage in the impasse over Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) unyielding holds and start working to bypass him.

Despite what Tuberville claims, “It does affect military readiness, and over time could affect national security,” Esper said in an interview on CNN. “It becomes Republican senators to put pressure on Tuberville to release this hold. Democrats have done it in the past as well, but this has gone on too long.”