Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has been the little Dutch boy at the dike holding back the flood with one finger. His determination to prevent the promotion of general officers in the military until the Pentagon rescinds its policy to pay the travel expenses for soldiers who want an abortion and must travel to another state has resulted in anger and resentment — even from his Republican colleagues.
With our close ally Israel at war and the backlog of nominations growing, even some pro-life Republican senators are becoming enraged with Tubervlle's tactics.
And now the Marine Corps's top officer, Gen. Eric Smith, has suffered a heart attack, and it's unknown whether he will return to full duty. This places Tuberville's obstructionism front and center and with the growing frustration and anger of his colleagues, calls into question whether the Senator has his priorities straight.
On Wednesday night, a remarkable scene unfolded on the Senate floor as several Republicans, including Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Todd C. Young (Ind.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) confronted Tuberville, imploring him to lift his hold for the sake of national security and proposing votes on individual officers whose promotions have been delayed. Tuberville rebuffed them one by one, blocking each proposed nominee as his colleagues’ frustration continued to rise.
The confrontation stretched nearly five hours, with Ernst, a retired Army officer, and Sullivan, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, rotating to bring forward the bulk of 61 officers presented by name. They called out Tuberville for saying previously that he would relent on nominations that were brought forward for votes individually.
"Xi Jinping is loving this. So is Putin," Sullivan said at one point. "How dumb can we be, man?”
At what point does Tuberville's obligation to the national security of the United States supersede his personal beliefs about traveling for an abortion? This isn't about abortion. It's about paying for traveling for abortion. For this, Tuberville is holding up 375 promotions, which includes positions in commands worldwide.
One of those vacant positions is the Marine Corps second in command — the position held by Gen. Smith before he was elevated to the top spot in September. There are no other four-star generals in the Pentagon, so a subordinate general, Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl will serve.
Once Tuberville realized that his gambit was harming national security — and even some who agreed with Tuberville in his initial protest, now recognize that fact — he should have taken one of the many "off ramps" offered by his colleagues.
“I have been among those trying to convince Sen. Tuberville to express his opposition some other way, by people who actually make policy as opposed to our military heroes,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said.
During a private meeting of Senate Republicans on Wednesday, Smith’s unclear prognosis and the unpredictability of the war in Gaza both were raised as reasons that lawmakers must find a resolution soon, according to a Senate aide familiar with the discussion. Among the nominees on hold are the prospective next commander of the Navy’s 5th Fleet and the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command. Both positions have vital leadership functions in the Middle East, where U.S. troops have faced repeated attacks since the war between Israel and Gaza reignited in early October.
“The thought is that this is a really dangerous time, and not a time when we want a [junior varsity] squad of military officers” temporarily filling key posts, the aide said.
There's a move afoot by Senate Democrats to temporarily change Senate rules to allow for a vote on a bloc of nominees instead of bringing them to the floor one at a time. But most Republicans are extremely cautious. Any change in Senate rules could have unforeseen consequences.
So unless Tuberville relents, we're going to be facing a growing backlog of needed promotions at a time when we can least afford the gap in military leadership.
