- Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military nominees is rippling throughout the Pentagon.
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley will soon step down. The military wants a successor ready.
Since February, GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has blocked the confirmation of roughly 250 military nominees — much to the frustration of Democrats and even some Republicans — over the Pentagon's new abortion policy.
Generally, the introduction of Department of Defense nominations are a mere formality in the upper chamber, but Tuberville's blockade could have major national security implications this year with the impending retirements of four members of the eight-person Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Tuberville, incensed that the Pentagon responded to the overturn of Roe v. Wade by affording service members time off and travel expenses for reproductive health care, including abortion procedures, isn't letting go of his protest against what he said is the Biden administration's push to make the military into an "institution for left-wing social engineering."
If the senator's hold on nominees stands in the coming weeks, though, the leaders of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps — along with the chairman — won't have respective successors installed. Such a development would be concerning from a national security standpoint in normal times, but with the US continuing to aid Ukraine in its efforts to fight Russian military forces, the lack of continuity in the upper ranks of the military leadership has frustrated a bipartisan group of lawmakers who want to see the blockade end.
The hold on nominees also comes as the US continues to navigate its diplomatic relationship with China.
Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general and former staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Politico that Tuberville is "taking the military nominees as political hostages."
"There's just no getting around it, these are political hostages over a policy that he disagrees with by the current administration," Punaro said.
As the number of unconfirmed military nominees has increased, Tuberville has continued to dig in on his stance, stating that he wouldn't stop his blockade until the Pentagon backtracked on their new policy or the Senate held a vote on the abortion policy.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, while speaking with senators in March, warned that the holdup could have serious effects on the country's preparedness.
"There are a number of things happening globally that indicate that we could be in a contest on any one given day," he said at the time. "Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be."
"The effects are cumulative and it will affect families. It will affect kids going to schools because they won't be able to change their duty station. It's a powerful effect and will impact on our readiness," he continued.
Tuberville said that he's had minimal communication with Austin and no talks with the White House about the issue.
And even though Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York could schedule votes on each of the stalled nominees, the hold ensures that the process would be drawn-out and potentially take months to complete.
"You've got some significant holes that have been created in major commands," Punaro told Politico. "This is having a real negative impact on military readiness, there's no getting around it."
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, is set to step down by Oct. 1. And the Senate committee hearing for Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown Jr. — who was nominated by Biden to replace Milley — is slated to be held later this month.
If Brown isn't confirmed by Oct. 1, then Milley will have to hand over his responsibilities to his vice chairman, Adm. Christopher Grady, in the interim.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the Democratic chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in March that it was critical that the backlog be addressed in order to maintain the stability of leadership at the Pentagon.
"I have never in my almost three decades here seen so many key military positions coming up for replacement," Reed said at the time.
"If we cannot resolve the situation, we will be, in many respects, leaderless at a time of great conflict," he continued. "So, I would hope we would expedite and move quickly on this front."