Senate Approves Military Promotions Despite Tuberville Blockade

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Facts

  • On Thursday, the Senate approved Pres. Biden's nominees Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. David Allvin, by a 95-1 vote, as leaders of the Navy and the Air Force respectively. Additionally, the Senate voted 86-0 to confirm Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney as the Marine Corps' No. 2 officer.1
  • These confirmations were voted on individually so as to bypass Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) hold on senior military promotions, which has been ongoing due to his objection to a Department of Defense policy for service women seeking abortions.2
  • Tuberville has been partially blocked military promotions since Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin implemented a policy to reimburse military personnel traveling out of state to access reproductive healthcare needs, following the SCOTUS' overturning of Roe v. Wade.3
  • Vowing not to retreat on his position, Tuberville asserted that he couldn't watch passively while the Biden admin. allegedly attempted to politicize the military, spend taxpayer dollars on abortions, and blatantly violate the Constitution.4
  • Senate Republicans, who largely oppose the policy but argue that the ongoing blockade punishes uniformed officers and their families, had sought to break the stalemate on the floor on Wednesday, but Tuberville refused to '[bend] the rules for people who want to break the rules.'5
  • Meanwhile, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer disclosed plans to temporarily circumvent Senate rules to restore what had been routine practice before Tuberville's nine-month hold. However, he would need the support of at least nine GOP senators to clear the 60-vote threshold and advance the proposal.6

Sources: 1Politico, 2Washington Post, 3Newsmax, 4ABC News, 5Washington Examiner and 6The New York Times.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by American Spectator. Tuberville has boldly exposed the hypocrisy of the American political establishment, which has rightfully condemned the appalling murder of infants in Israel but unjustly supported the illegal use of taxpayer funds to get rid of unwanted pregnancies. Now, both sides of the aisle have come together to blame him for stalling military nominations when all he is doing is being a righteous citizen seeking to ensure compliance with federal laws.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by FOX News. Whether you agree or not with the Pentagon policy that covers travel costs for abortions for service members and their dependents, it's a matter of fact that Tuberville's hold on military nominations has unreasonably used troops and their families as political pawns while undermining national security. Republicans and Democrats mustn't allow a single senator to punish the armed forces whenever they have a policy disagreement.

Predictions