On Tuesday night, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) received unanimous consent to confirm the promotions of 11 four-star generals and admirals in the final swath of military confirmations on hold by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville in protest of a Biden administration military abortion travel policy.
Tuberville (R-Auburn) stridently opposed the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing servicemembers and their dependents for travel expenses to get abortion services out of state — particularly when they’re located in a state like Alabama that maintains one of the most pro-life set of laws in the nation.
When Schumer asked for unanimous consent on Tuesday, Tuberville did not object to lifting the holds on the 11 four-star generals and admirals.
Tuberville procedurally withheld several hundred senior-level military and Department of Defense civilian employee promotions for months over his insistence the Biden administration change their policy on abortion for servicemembers.
Tuberville’s stance was publicly renounced on the Senate floor by several establishment GOP Senators, including Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Todd Young of Indiana and Dan Sullivan of Alaska — who each threatened to vote with Senate Democrats to change the rules of the Senate so the minority cannot impose holds on military appointments unless Tuberville ended his own.
RELATED: Graham threatens alliance with Democrats to end Tuberville’s holds
Earlier this month, Tuberville agreed to lift the holds on all the promotions except for the 11 four-star generals. Over 300 promotions were passed at that time by unanimous consent.
Tuberville has been disappointed that Schumer and Biden would not negotiate with him.
“I’d work with them, I told them three weeks ago I’d work with them,” Tuberville told D.C. reporters. “They don’t want to work with anybody. We could have done it three weeks ago.”
The Senate gave final approval to the promotions of Air Force Gen. Kevin Schneider, Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, Navy Admiral William Houston, Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, Army Gen. James Mingus, Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, Navy Admiral James Kilby, Air Force General James Slife, Navy Admiral Stephen Koehler and Navy Rear Admiral Eric Anduze, among other nominees.
RELATED: Tuberville releases holds on most military promotions
In the House of Representatives, members of Congress authorized the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) without addressing the Pentagon abortion policy that virtually all GOP members of the House and Senate are fundamentally opposed to, despite political divisions over the method Tuberville and allies used to end the policy.
Schumer called the Senate into session this week to continue to negotiate on a border security bill and to get Republican support for a massive aid package to help Ukraine continue its war with Russia. Those negotiations ended on Monday. Senate Democrats made it clear that they would stay however long it took to force those last eleven promotions through the Senate.
As of Wednesday morning, both the House and Senate adjourned for the holidays.
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