U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., pictured Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in Las Vegas, says, “Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles” being held up by fellow Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Rosen. speaking Tuesday, July 11, 2023, during a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was raising objections to Tuberville’s blockade on senior military promotions that has been in place since February.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., reiterated her objections Tuesday to Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s extended hold on senior military promotions.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing for Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rosen, called out the actions of the senior senator from Alabama.
“I’m deeply concerned at the fact that your swift confirmation is being held up, along with hundreds of other senior military promotions, including those in my state of Nevada,” Rosen said in her remarks to Brown, currently the Air Force chief of staff. “That wouldn’t be acceptable for any reason, but it’s even more outrageous that these holds are to get rid of a policy that protects our servicemembers’ reproductive rights. This extreme, anti-choice agenda is jeopardizing our national security in order to impose restrictions on our servicemembers’ reproductive freedoms. Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles. And I would like to see you have a quick confirmation.”
In May, Rosen took to the Senate floor to chastise the blockade on military promotions, saying, in part, “Failure to fill these positions poses a risk to our nation’s military readiness and our ability to ensure that these critical roles are filled with the personnel that we need.”
In February, Tuberville, a former college football coach elected to the Senate in 2021 as a Republican, placed a hold on the so-called general and flag officer promotions, which require Senate confirmation to take effect. Such promotions, historically, are approved in speedy, noncontroversial unanimous consent votes in the Senate. Should any senator object to a unanimous consent vote, the request is rejected. So far, Tuberville’s objection has held up more than 250 senior military promotions.
Tuberville’s protest was sparked after the Department of Defense had issued a policy late last year to pay for out-of-state travel expenses incurred by servicemembers seeking an abortion. Tuberville opposes the policy.
In addition to Brown’s elevation to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Tuberville’s hold also has left the U.S. Marine Corps without a confirmed leader for the first time in 164 years. Marine Corps Commander Gen. David Berger officially retired Monday. Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith is serving as acting commander atop the military branch while his nomination is stalled.
Tuberville’s holds have drawn criticism from a number of former secretaries of defense, retired military officers, Democratic senators and even from within his own party. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in May told reporters, “I don’t support putting a hold on military nominations. I don’t support that.”
