Sen. Tuberville Lifts Hold on Hundreds of Military Promotions

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Dec 06, 2023

Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Imagesstory last updated Dec 07, 2023

The Facts

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) ended his nine-month long protest against the Pentagon's abortion policy on Tuesday, releasing all holds on military promotions except for four-star generals.
The Senate, which otherwise would’ve had to hold a vote on each individual nominee, proceeded to approve more than 400 military confirmations just a few hours after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with fellow GOP senators to announce his decision to reporters.

The Spin

Democratic narrative

Tuberville’s decision to enact these holds was all grandstanding. Had he been a principled protestor of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, he would have stood firm in the face of the Senate possibly changing its rules to get around him, and many of his Republican colleagues refusing to back his actions. In the end, Tuberville put national security at risk so he could use military promotions as a weapon in his culture war.

Slate

Republican narrative

The Democrats are the ones who utilized these military holds as part of their culture war. All the Biden administration had to do was drop the preposterous provision that allows the Pentagon to pay for abortions — which has nothing to do with national security — and it would’ve been business as usual. Their threat to forever change Senate rules was the only thing that forced Tuberville, who acted entirely on principle, to relent.