Senate Democrats eye end run around Tuberville’s military promotion blockade

Senate Democrats are crafting a resolution to get around Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s months-long hold on military promotions and appointments. There are more than 300 senior military personnel stuck in limbo because of the Alabama Republican’s blanket blockade spurred by his opposition to a Pentagon policy that allows service members time off and travel stipends to travel across state lines for abortion services.

Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, is spearheading the effort to remove the one-man roadblock. The proposal is a one-off resolution that would change the rules to allow for most of the nominations to be considered in a bloc. The promotion and confirmation votes for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders would be exempted from the resolution, and would still require individual votes. The rule change would be temporary, only lasting through this Congress.