The Senate voted to confirm Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday, an initial step toward breaking a monthslong logjam that has left more than 300 senior military promotions in limbo.
The 83-11 vote came after Sen. Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer filed cloture on Brown’s nomination as well as the nominations of Gen. Randy A. George to be chief of staff of the Army and Gen. Eric M. Smith to be commandant of the Marine Corps. The Senate also invoked cloture on George’s nomination on Wednesday.
Schumer’s actions came after Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., indicated Tuesday he was going to submit a cloture petition himself on Wednesday that would have forced a vote on one of the nominees. Tuberville has had a blanket hold on senior military promotions for more than six months in protest of a Pentagon policy that reimburses servicemembers who must travel for reproductive care because they are stationed in states that have banned abortion.
