Senate confirms Joint Chiefs chair in respite from Tuberville blockade
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Democrats briefly relenting in their ongoing feud with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to push through President Biden’s nominee for the military’s top job.
The 83-11 vote avoids what had been the embarrassing prospect of a temporary administrator filling the Pentagon’s most prestigious post. Yet it leaves about 300 other senior officers ensnared in Tuberville’s months-long hold on military promotions with no clear path to advancement, as the underlying political standoff over the Defense Department’s abortion policy exhibits no signs of abating.
The 11 senators voting against Brown were all Republicans: Mike Braun (Ind.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Josh Hawley (Mo.), Mike Lee (Utah), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.), J.D. Vance (Ohio), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Cynthia M. Lummis (Wyo.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Tuberville.
Tuberville did not object to the votes. But moments after the Senate moved to advance Brown’s nomination for final consideration, the freshman senator cast blame on Democrats for the state of play and vowed to continue his hold on the other military nominations unless the Pentagon changes its abortion policy. He argued that Schumer “could have confirmed these nominees a long, long time ago” if he had agreed to approve each nomination individually.
“We could have been confirming one or two a week for the last 200 days,” Tuberville said, alleging that Democrats simply did not want to work. “Senators are perfectly capable of voting. Voting is our job.”
Shortly thereafter, Tuberville reiterated his long-standing conditions for relenting. “If the Pentagon lifts the policy, then I will lift the hold. It’s as easy as that,” he said.
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