Senator Tuberville’s Blockade of Military Confirmations: A 164-Year Delay

 For the first time in 164 years, a United States Senator has caused the country’s most elite military unit to be without a confirmed leader. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has refused to confirm promotions to top military posts until the Pentagon agrees to end its policy of providing leave and travel funds for reproductive healthcare, including abortion.

It is estimated that this hold-up has left 265 military positions in limbo and, due to the backlog of confirmations, as many as 650 military positions could be left unconfirmed by year’s end.

The last time the Marine Corps’ leadership failed to have an official successor was in 1859. Tuberville’s blockade has sparked an outpouring of criticism, even from his Republican colleagues, some of whom see his actions as risking military preparedness.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has also spoken out against Tuberville’s actions, calling them “unprecedented in its scale and scope” and claiming that they harm the US’s national security and hinder the Pentagon’s normal operations.

Tuberville, however, denies that his blockade is preventing military business from passing the Senate. He argues that the Senate could vote on each appointment one by one, but critics say that process would be slow and cumbersome.

The Senator’s protest against “unanimous consent” stems from his objection to a recent Pentagon policy for offering reproductive healthcare resources. The Department of Defense’s February policy memo does not explicitly name abortion, but observers understood it as an attempt to circumvent abortion restrictions that went into place after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

Tuberville has called on the Department of Defense to either suspend the policy or put it before a congressional vote, but Democrats have so far refused to consider doing either.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran, has urged Tuberville to end his blockade, pointing out that her own blockade lasted only 14 days. In the coming months, the staff chiefs of the Air Force, Army and Navy are all expected to step down, in addition to Army General Mark Milley, who serves as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If Tuberville does not relent, the nation’s highest military posts could be left vacant for months to come.