“I cannot help but think [that the vacancies have] added a level of complexity and danger to an already bad situation,” one DOD official said.

Pentagon officials have been frustrated for months over an Alabama senator’s blockade of more than 300 senior military nominations. But after the Marine Corps chief was hospitalized over the weekend, that frustration is turning into rage.

Gen. Eric Smith had been filling both the No. 1 and No. 2 Marine Corps posts from July until he was finally confirmed as commandant in September. He, along with more than 300 other senior officers, was swept up in the promotions blockade put in place by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy.

In an interview Wednesday, Tuberville brushed off the comments from the DOD officials.

“They’re looking for someone to blame it on, other than themselves,” he said. “We could have all these people confirmed if they’d have just gone by the Constitution.

“I don’t listen to these people,” he added. “They’re just looking for any possible way to get themselves out of a jam.”

  • Eldritch@lemmy.worldEnglish
    102·
    1 year ago

    I dunno you seemed awfully ready to blame democrats for not dropping all other Senate business. To hold hundreds of cloture votes to work through the backlog of better part of a decade. Which is a bit of a ridiculous ask. When it would make much more sense for A. the Republicans to a do their job or for B. Ranking Republicans to do their job and revoke his committee status. Replacing him with another Republican willing to do the job.

    Because let’s be clear here. Someone who would seek to blame democrats for not doing something to resolve this. Would just as disingenuously blame democrats for dropping all the actual things they were supposed to be doing just to take care of all the things one senator has blocked. Because it’s not just one senator. It’s all Republicans. They could replace Tuberville on any committee if they wanted to. They don’t want to.

    • trash80@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      29·
      1 year ago

      I dunno you seemed awfully ready to blame democrats

      You don’t even know what’s going on. The Republicans are the ones removed about it, finally.

      https://apnews.com/article/tuberville-holds-military-schumer-nominations-99a156198d325a329a98208785ea80f9

      Showing obvious frustration and frequent flashes of anger, the Republican senators — Sullivan, Graham, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Indiana Sen. Todd Young and others — read lengthy biographies and praised individual nominees as they called for vote after vote. They said they agree with Tuberville on the policy, but questioned — as Democrats have for months — why he would hold up the highest ranks of the U.S. military.