The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith to become the next Marine Corps commandant, the third nomination to move through the Senate after Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) months-long blockade on military promotions and confirmations.
The chamber voted 96 to 0 to confirm Smith, who had been serving as the Marine’s assistant commandant and working in an acting capacity after Commandant Gen. David Berger retired in July, leaving the Marine Corps with no Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in more than 100 years.
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Smith has commanded at every level and has served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was also the senior military adviser to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and took over as the deputy commandant for combat development in 2019.
Smith was promoted to four-star general in 2021 and then took over as assistant commandant. He has focused on retention and recruitment of Marine forces.
The confirmation comes amid growing pressure for lawmakers to resolve a standoff centered on the Pentagon’s abortion policy after the Army, Marine Corps, and Navy had been without Senate-confirmed leaders. Since March, Tuberville placed a blanket hold on more than 300 military promotions after the Alabama senator announced he believes policy, put into place in response to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade last year, is a violation of a federal law that limits taxpayer funding of abortions to cases of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother.
Tuberville’s blockade prevented Senate confirmations that are typically moved through the chamber in blocs by unanimous consent.
The Senate's approval of military promotions is usually smooth and is moved through the chamber in blocs by unanimous consent. Tuberville’s actions cannot prevent the Democratic-controlled Senate from voting to confirm the nominees, but can drastically slow the process. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had previously refused to take that step, emphasizing that bringing each of the nominations to the floor for a vote would prevent the Senate from taking up any other legislation for months.
Schumer’s move to hold votes comes after Tuberville sought to force a vote under a rarely used procedure that would have forced the Senate to confirm Gen. Eric Smith’s promotion to Marine Corps commandant, after the Alabama Senator collected signatures needed for a cloture petition. According to Senate rules, a lawmaker can bring a cloture motion to the floor once it’s been backed by at least 16 Senators.Before Tuberville could act, Schumer took to the floor to start the process of voting on three nominees.
Tuberville voted to confirm Smith on Thursday.
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The Alabama senator has maintained he will not drop his hold on the remaining nominees until the Pentagon reverses its policy or Democrats codify it under law.
Schumer's procedural motion still does not address hundreds of other military promotions being delayed by Tuberville's action.