![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() “The bottom line is this is a problem created by Republicans and it’s up to them to solve it,” Schumer said. Some Republicans have suggested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., could hold votes on some of the most critical nominations. The Pentagon said the number of promotions on hold in the Senate has reached 98 in the Air Force, 91 in the Army, 86 in the Navy, 18 in the Marines and 8 in the Space Force. “I’m hoping that the conversations that occur this week and the conversations that Senator Tuberville has had with the military leadership will lead to a breakthrough at some point,” said Sen. But if Republican leaders are pressuring Tuberville to end his holds, they are not doing so publicly. It emphasizes that the new policy was in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which created a situation where federal troops serving in one state may not have access to the same type of reproductive services available in others.Īs many as 650 nominations could be affected by the end of the year if the impasse continues. The Pentagon to date has not provided data on the number of servicemembers who have relied on the new policy to get access to an abortion citing privacy issues. Also, Defense Department staff met with Senate Armed Services Committee staff in July to go over the details of DOD’s reproductive healthcare policy.īut Steven Stafford, a spokesman for Tuberville, said there has been no contact with the Biden administration about the holds at the principal or staff level since July 18, and no further communications are planned. “They are watching this spectacle and might conclude that their service at the highest ranks of our military is no longer valued by members of Congress or, by extension, the American public.”Īustin has called Tuberville three times about the holds, the last time was on July 18, and the Pentagon’s legislative affairs staff continues to engage, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. “The generals and admirals who will be leading our forces a decade from now are colonels and captains today,” they wrote. Looking ahead, the secretaries said in their op-ed that prolonged uncertainty and political battles over military nominations “will have a corrosive effect on the force.” In a CNN interview, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro accused Tuberville of “playing Russian roulette with the very lives of our servicemembers by denying them the opportunity to actually have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them in times of peace and in times of combat.” Those jobs are being performed without the full range of legal authorities necessary to make decisions that will sustain the United States’ military edge, they wrote. They noted that three military branches - the Army, Navy and Marine Corps - have no Senate-confirmed chiefs in place. It’s a classic Washington standoff with rippling effects across the country, placing the lives of servicemembers effectively on hold as they await what has traditionally been routine Senate approval for their promotions.įrustration mounting, the secretaries of the Navy, Air Force and Army wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post this week saying Tuberville’s efforts were not only unfair to the military leaders and their families but also “putting our national security at risk.” ![]()
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