The Senate's upcoming votes on three top Department of Defense nominees will not "solve the larger problem" with the ongoing hold on military promotions, according to the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took the procedural steps on Wednesday to set up votes for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Marine Corps commandant, and the Army chief of staff after Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) threatened to begin those steps himself.
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Tuberville has prevented the Senate from voting on defense nominations via unanimous consent and by batches at a time for more than six months, which has resulted in a backlog of more than 300 nominations and promotions. He's doing so as a form of protest against a department policy to reimburse United States troops or their dependents for the travel expenses incurred if they are forced to travel out-of-state for a non-covered reproductive healthcare procedure, like an abortion.
"It's good, it's esoterically just good that the Senate is going to move forward to confirm these three officers," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday. "That can't be denied, but it doesn't solve the larger problem. And the larger problem is caused by one man, one senator, who, despite his claims to the contrary, is actually politicizing the United States military with this massive hold. And, they need to be lifted immediately."
Schumer could have taken the steps to vote on the nominees individually the whole time, but voting on every nominee or promotion, roughly 320 at this point, would take months. DOD officials have argued that Tuberville's hold impacts national security and military readiness.
"Sen. Tuberville is seeking to use a procedural step to overcome his very own holds. Yes, you heard that right. Sen. Tuberville is seeking to undo his own holds," Schumer said in floor remarks. "The man who is holding everything up is trying to obfuscate things by playing this ruse on the floor. Sen. Tuberville is essentially trying to make himself the gatekeeper of which officers are promoted and who sits and waits."
The upcoming votes on Gen. Randy Gregory to serve as Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Eric Smith to become the next Marine Corps Commandant will solve some of the most senior level vacancies, if they get confirmed, but leaves more than 300 promotions and nominations still up in the air without a scheduled vote.
Gregory and Smith are serving in those roles in an acting capacity, as is acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
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It's the first time three U.S. military branches do not have a senate-confirmed chief at the same time, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Neither Tuberville nor the department have shown a willingness to budge from their respective positions on the policy despite multiple conversations between the Alabama senator and Austin. Pentagon officials have maintained the policy is about ensuring every service member has access to the same healthcare regardless of where they are stationed.