In Washington, D.C., Arizona’s senators are working to pass a temporary resolution that would end a monthslong blockade on military promotions.
Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema want the Senate to move more than 350 military promotions through the chamber. Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville is single-handedly stopping the promotions from passing because he opposes a policy that allows service members to travel to abortion-friendly areas.
Kelly, who’s a Navy veteran, said that in such a dangerous time, the promotions can’t wait.
“The senator from Alabama must remove his hold on our admirals and generals. We wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for him and he can stop this today if he wants to,” Kelly said. He asked his colleagues to think of our national security.
Kelly says he’s lobbying members on both sides of the aisle. The resolution requires 60 votes to pass, meaning it needs bipartisan support.
Tuberville’s actions are not upsetting members on party lines. On Wednesday night, frustrated Republicans put Tuberville on the spot on the Senate floor, making him vote on individual nominations for hours.
A spokesperson for Sinema — one of the chamber’s few independents who worked to craft the resolution — said it could move through the Senate rules committee as early as next week. No vote is scheduled yet.
Following the recent illness of Marine Corps leader General Eric Smith, discontent with Tuberville’s blockage has reached a breaking point. Smith has no number two appointed.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wants to get the resolution forward. The standing order resolution would move all the nominees forward in one bloc — rather than individually.
Ordinarily, military promotions do move forward in groups, but any Senator can require a roll call vote, which takes time. That’s how Tuberville is holding up the nominees. If every potential propagation was considered individually, it would take far too much of the Senate’s time to be feasible.
“The Senate must consider whether it will allow the U.S. military to be without hundreds of confirmed admirals and generals and to be just one illness or accident away from, once again, having a service branch without senior leadership,” Kelly said.
