Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is backing down on his hundreds of military holds in the Senate, he announced on Tuesday.
Tuberville revealed the end of the blockade to reporters after telling his colleagues in a Tuesday luncheon at the Capitol. The hold, however, will still apply to about a dozen four-star positions. Some unfilled senior leadership positions include vice chief of staff at the Army, Air Force, and naval operations.
KYRSTEN SINEMA ACCUSED IN ETHICS COMPLAINT OF ‘ONGOING FAILURE’ TO REPORT FINANCES
The Alabama senator said he was doing so to avoid an upcoming vote on a temporary rules change that would’ve allowed the Senate to confirm the nominees en masse.
“We fought hard,” Tuberville said. “We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military, fighting back against executive overreach and an abortion policy.”
Tuberville had been blocking the nominations since early March in protest of the Defense Department‘s new abortion policy and has delayed more than 300 top military nominees.
Tuberville’s office initially announced a hastily called press conference for Tuesday afternoon, presumably to unveil the change of heart, but his office canceled it minutes later because the senator decided to tell his GOP colleagues in person over lunch before the public, according to a source familiar.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had previously made it clear he was not supportive of the method in which Tuberville went about the holds, said he was pleased with the Alabama senator’s announcement.
“We’re pleased obviously that situation was ameliorated by the recent announcement from the senator from Alabama,” McConnell said Tuesday.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he plans to advance the long-stalled promotions “as soon as possible, possibly later this afternoon.”
“One thing I would say, Sen. Tuberville, I hope no one does this again,” Schumer said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “I hope they learned the lesson of Sen. Tuberville. That is, he held out for many, many months, hurt our national security, caused discombobulation to so many military families who have been so dedicated to our country, and didn’t get anything he wanted. It was a useless strategy that did not succeed.”
