Tuberville Makes Surprise Reversal on Military Holds – By John Johnson (Newser) / Dec 5, 2023
Republican senator ends his blockade of most, but not all, military promotions
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s single-handed blockade of hundreds of military promotions is over. Mostly. The Alabama Republican said Tuesday that he would no longer block the promotions of officers who have a three-star rank or lower, which accounts for the vast majority of the promotions in limbo, reports the Hill. Instead, he will keep the block in place only for about a dozen four-star general nominees, per Politico, which describes the move as a “surprising white flag” from the senator. It came as Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was readying a workaround that appeared to have enough GOP support to pass, notes the Washington Post.
“I am not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer,” Tuberville told reporters. “We just released them.” Tuberville had been holding up the promotions for nearly 10 months to protest a new Pentagon rule that allows members of the military to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they have to go out of state for an abortion, per the AP. The logjam had been wreaking havoc on military families and raising concerns about military readiness, which angered not just Democrats but fellow Republicans.
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