The effects of Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military promotions and confirmations will be felt for years, President Joe Biden's selection to lead the Navy acknowledged on Thursday.
Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who is currently the vice chief of naval operations and is the acting chief of naval operations due mostly to Tuberville's hold, testified in front of the Alabama lawmaker and the rest of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Tuberville has held up more than 315 military nominations over the course of more than six months due to his opposition to the Department of Defense's policy implemented in response to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade.
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"I think just at the three-star level it would take about three to four months to move all the people around but it will take years to recover from the promotion— if confirmed for the promotion delays that we would see for years to come," she told lawmakers under questioning from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has been outspoken about the ramifications of Tuberville's hold.
"Our military experts project China wants to be able to take Taiwan by 2027 and we'll still be trying to repair the damage inflicted by these holds," Warren responded. "The Republicans' failure to end this blockade makes it clear they don't care about us. They don't care about families who have served their country honorably for decades. It's hard to imagine a bigger propaganda win for our enemies. We need this hold to stop and we need it to stop now."
If Franchetti gets confirmed, and Tuberville spoke positively of her during his questioning, she would become the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"I coached football for a long time. I coached teams, put them together. And I had football players. I didn't have different races, or wealth or religions. And I would never, I would never try to divide that group and put them in certain categories to where other groups so what are we doing? Why are we separating this because our military is a team. I mean, we've got to win, there's no second place in war," Tuberville said, adding, "I know you can do the job. I'm looking forward to it. But I would just, you know the experiences I've had over the years, if we ever start trying to divide into groups within a team atmosphere, which our military is a team, we're gonna have huge problems down the way."
Tuberville has argued for months that the policy the department instituted in response to the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade is illegal, which is to reimburse service members or dependents who have to travel out-of-state to get an abortion or other non-covered reproductive health care due to local laws. As such, he has held up the Senate's ability to vote on nominees the way it normally does, in batches by unanimous consent.
Military leaders have expressed urgency in ending the standoff since the start of the month, though they have done so without expressing a willingness to compromise on the policy.
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Franchetti; Gen. Randy George, vice chief of staff of the Army; and Gen. Eric Smith, assistant Marine Corps commandant, are working in their current roles while taking on the acting position above them. Biden selected all three of them to lead their respective service branches, and it's the first time three branches are simultaneously without a senate-confirmed chief. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Staff, is slated to retire later this month, though it's unclear if the senate will confirm Biden's chosen successor, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, before then. Brown's nomination, should he be confirmed, would also create a vacancy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the head of the Air Force. Biden has already nominated Gen. David W. Allvin, the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, to lead the service.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could bring them to the floor one by one, instead of passing them in batches by unanimous consent, but it would take significantly more time to confirm each nomination or promotion individually. He has refused to pursue this option and has described this as a Republican issue to solve, whereas Tuberville said earlier this week, that if the Senate doesn't vote on Brown's nomination this month, it's "entirely" the fault of the Democrats.