Sen Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) hinted at an end to his monthslong hold on military promotions that has created a backlog of more than 400 nominations.
Mr Tuberville began the block in February of this year in protest of the Department of Defense policy that reimburses US servicemembers if they travel to a state to obtain an abortion in a state where it is more accessible. That has in turn meant that the Senate cannot confirm military promotions in batches as they normally would, though some positions have been filled on an individual basis.
Many Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have opposed the practice. Many Republican senators who served in the military, including Sen Joni Ernst of Iowa, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Todd Young of Indiana have tried to break the impasse.
But during the weekly Senate Republican lunch, Mr Tuberville reportedly hinted at an off-ramp for an end to his hold on military promotions, according to Punchbowl News.
“Listen, everyone. I got y’all into this mess. I’m gonna get you out,” he reportedly told fellow Republicans behind closed doors.
The words from Mr Tuberville come after the Senate Rules Committee passed a resolution to change Senate rules to end Mr Tuberville’s hold. Military officials have warned that Mr Tuberville’s hold poses a risk to military readiness.
But many Republicans oppose changing Senate rules to break the impasse. In an interview with Newsmax, Mr Tuberville said that President Joe Biden should have closed the US-Mexico border in response to the 7 October attack in Israel from Hamas that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths.
Mr Tuberville said that the Biden administration exposed the United States to potential national security threats.
“We’re going to have a 9/11 attack every few weeks if we don’t watch it,” he told host Eric Bolling, who had previously been fired from Fox News for sexual misconduct.
