As war breaks out in Israel, Sen. Tommy Tuberville still refuses to lift his ongoing block on military promotions

• War erupted in Israel on Saturday as Hamas forces launched an all-out attack on Israeli citizens.
• Sen. Tommy Tuberville's office said he still has no plans to halt his block on military promotions.

GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville has no plans to back down on his ongoing block of military promotions, despite a new war breaking out in Israel.

A Tuberville spokesperson confirmed to Politico on Sunday that the senator's efforts to halt military promotions remain unchanged: until the Pentagon's abortion policy is altered, he'll continue on.

The Pentagon's decision in 2022 to adjust its policies to allow service members to get reimbursed for traveling out of state for abortion services upset Tuberville, leading him to begin his block on mass military promotions in February 2023.

The process for confirming military promotions is typically straightforward: the Senate majority leader would bring a vote to the floor with a detailed list of proposed promotions. Traditionally, the promotions would be voted on all at once and passed with the unanimous consent needed.

With Tuberville promising to give a "nay" on any vote to mass-promote service members, more than 300 nominees are still awaiting to be confirmed. For now, if the Senate wants to promote a service member, the upper chamber is forced to vote on individual people, severely slowing down the process.

The Senate used this process to promote three generals in late September, though hundreds of nominees remain unpromoted, including several who would lead US troops in the Middle East.

The vacancies of positions relating to US forces in the Middle East have drawn specific concern in recent days after Hamas fighters launched an all-out attack on Israel on Saturday, leaving hundreds dead and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare, "We are at war."

In a statement on Sunday, Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed highlighted Tuberville's "foolishness."

"The severity of the crisis in Israel underscores the foolishness of Senator Tuberville's blockade," Reed said. "The United States needs seamless military leadership in place to handle dangerous situations like this and Senator Tuberville is denying it."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading a bipartisan group of senators on a trip to China this week as the chamber is in recess, meaning it's highly unlikely the Senate will convene in the coming days to one-by-one promote any service members needed to assist with the ongoing turmoil in Israel.