Senate Democrats took to the floor on Wednesday night to denounce Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on military nominations as lawmakers attempt to break the stalemate ahead of the August recess.
Tuberville has been blocking nearly 300 military nominations since early March in protest of the Defense Department's new abortion policy. Tuberville says he believes the policy, put in place in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last year, is a violation of a federal law that limits federal funding of abortion to cases of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother.
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The Pentagon does not pay for the procedure itself but recently began to cover the travel expenses for servicewomen seeking an abortion.
As Senate leaders work to wrap up consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act this week, many Democrats are questioning what it will take to get Tuberville to back off his blockade since the legislation had been viewed at one time as an off-ramp.
Tuberville at one time signaled a vote on the policy as part of the NDAA would be enough for him to drop the hold, but he has since taken a harder line, maintaining that the only way he would relent is if the Pentagon reverses its policy or if Democrats successfully codify it into law.
“The senator from Alabama has moved his goalposts many times. Never offering a viable or reasonable compromise,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor. “Originally, he just wanted a call from the secretary of defense. Once he got it, he changed his demand again.”
“When he asked for a vote to repeal the policy, we did so during the National Defense Authorization Act markup, but of course he changed his demands again,” Reed, who was joined by multiple Democratic colleagues, added. “At this point, one has to wonder if he actually wants to achieve his demands or if he just wants to stay in the spotlight.”
The backlog of Pentagon nominees, which could grow to as large as 650 by the end of the year, is typically approved without objection, usually in batches. Tuberville lacks the power to block the promotions entirely — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) can still put them up for a vote — but the hold basically forces him to do so one by one, eating up valuable floor time.
Schumer could keep the Senate in session during the August recess to ramp up pressure on Tuberville, but he is not likely to do so.
Tuberville rejects the idea that he must relent, putting the onus on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reverse course. The two have spoken twice in recent weeks, though the conversations have yet to yield a breakthrough.
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Behind the scenes, there are some members on both sides of the aisle looking to find a way forward. One potential solution some senators are considering is to limit the Defense Department’s policy in an effort to satisfy Tuberville’s objections.
“There’s a small group of us that have been working to find a path forward that responds to the concerns that the senator has but also allows us to move forward with the votes of the nominees,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), a member of the Armed Services Committee.