Democrats Finally Force Tuberville to Back Down, 425 Military Nominees are Confirmed

After nearly a year, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville finally released his one-man hold on crucial military promotions, though he insisted to the media that “it was pretty much a draw” with the Biden administration and Democrats.

For ten months, Arizona’s Tuberville singlehandedly blocked several hundred vital military appointments and promotions made by President Biden. 

His motivation was to force the Defense Department to rescind a policy which reimbursed military personnel for travel if they needed to go out of state to receive reproductive care—in the event the state in which they are stationed doesn’t allow abortion access. 

Though the policy doesn’t reimburse personnel for abortions or any other related procedure, Tuberville claimed to object on “pro-life” grounds and demanded the DOD repeal the policy, though the Justice Department deemed it perfectly Constitutional.

Because antiquated Senate rules—predicated on reciprocal good faith among legislators—demand unanimous consent for such appointments and promotions, Tuberville was perfectly positioned to block them.

As the months dragged on, the public pressure on Tuberville and his fellow Republicans steadily increased. Veterans and military experts—neither of which Tuberville is—insisted his actions posed a threat to national security and undermined U.S. military readiness. 

Tuberville, a former football coach, rejected these claims. 

Other Republicans reportedly increasingly stressed to Tuberville in private that he should drop the hold; he refused. Eventually, many Republicans took to the Senate floor to publicly demand it, to no avail. So why relent now?

Reportedly, Senate Democrats—including infamously contrarian Kyrsten Sinema—proposed a rules change which would allow them to work around Tuberville’s hold and potentially reduce the power of the Republican minority.

Releasing his hold on all but 11 four-star generals, Tuberville allowed Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to immediately confirm 425 of the pending nominees unanimously. 

Still, Tuberville petulantly insists, “it was pretty much a draw.”

Video credits.