WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he is dropping the bulk of his months-long hold on hundreds of military nominations.
Tuberville told reporters that he has lifted his hold on all military promotions three-star and below, amounting to over 400 promotions.
“I’m releasing everybody. I still got a hold on I think 11 four-star generals. Everybody else is completely released from me.” Tuberville told reporters. “But other than that, it’s over.”
The Alabama Republican had been holding up military nominations for months in protest of the Defense Department’s policy that allows servicemembers to get reimbursements for travel related to getting an abortion.
Tuberville had signaled last week that he might drop some of his holds on military promotions “very soon.” He didn’t specify at the time how many promotions he would let through but said he wanted to get as many people as possible through “in the next week or so” and wouldn’t decide based on “levels” of rankings.
“I know these people, you know, need to be promoted,” he said last week.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week on the floor that he would bring to the floor a Democratic resolution to bypass Tuberville’s holds, but it wasn’t clear if he’d have the votes to pass it.
Frustrations with Tuberville among his own party have building. But last week, Senate Republicans overwhelmingly expressed optimism that Tuberville would come to a resolution, ending his blockade, before they leave for the new year.
“I was involved in a lot of conversations over the weekend on this subject, and I think that I’m hopeful,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday morning. “I’m hopeful that today, we’re going to–keep your fingers crossed, we’ll see, I hope we have a breakthrough but time will tell.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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