Senate Majority Leader Schumer Moves Forward with Confirming Three Senior Military Nominees Blocked by Sen. Tuberville

The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday moved forward with confirming three senior military nominees who were blocked by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Tuberville had been holding up more than 300 military nominations due to his objections to the Pentagon’s policy on travel for abortion care.

The three officials set to be confirmed are Gen. Eric Smith for Marine Corps commandant, Randy George for chief of staff of the Army, and C.Q. Brown for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Eric Smith is currently serving in an acting capacity due to Tuberville’s blockade, leaving the Pentagon operating without a Senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in over 150 years.

Tuberville sought to force the Senate to confirm Gen. Eric Smith’s promotion to Marine Corps commandant on Wednesday afternoon, a Senate aide with knowledge of the plan told NBC News. To do this, Tuberville implemented a combination of procedural and political gymnastics. He posted on X Wednesday morning, captioning a photo of him signing a document known as a cloture petition, “It’s time to vote.”

The confirmation of the three senior military nominees is a small break in the logjam that has frustrated senior Pentagon officials and lawmakers in both parties. However, hundreds of other lower-ranking military officials are still waiting for Senate approval as Tuberville continues to block them. It remains to be seen if Tuberville will continue to hold up the other 300 military nominations or if he will relent and allow them to be confirmed.