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As Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade on U.S. military confirmations has dragged on, the Alabama Republican has repeatedly defended his radical tactics by saying they’re ultimately irrelevant. The coach-turned-politician, who has no background in military policy, has insisted that his Senate holds have no real practical relevance, since other officials fill voids as needed.
Those who know what they’re talking about have tried to make clear to the far-right senator that he has reality backwards, and that his blockade is actually undermining his own country’s armed forces. So far, however, Tuberville has convinced himself that he’s right and military leaders are wrong.
It was against this backdrop that Defense Department officials provided senators with a briefing this week on the crisis in Israel. A Politico report on the briefing included this striking detail:
Pentagon officials who briefed senators Tuesday on the Israel crisis emphasized nine senior military positions in the command responsible for the Middle East that are facing disruptions due to Tuberville’s holds, according to a person familiar with the unclassified call, who was granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Officials also pushed for the nominees for ambassador to Israel, Egypt and Lebanon to be confirmed.
For emphasis, let’s just note that sentence again: “[N]ine senior military positions in the command responsible for the Middle East that are facing disruptions due to Tuberville’s holds.”
The same report added the Alabama Republican’s blockade “includes two picks for the Joint Chiefs and officers leading U.S. forces in the Middle East. At the same time, three of President Joe Biden’s picks to be ambassadors to Middle Eastern countries, and his pick for the State Department’s top counterterrorism job, await votes in the Senate as the confirmation process sputters.”
The briefing on conditions in Israel came roughly 48 hours after the far-right senator’s office said Tuberville has no intention of abandoning his blockade, regardless of the crisis in the Middle East. His spokesperson added Tuberville would shift gears if the Pentagon gave in to the GOP senator’s demands and ended reimbursement benefits for U.S. troops.
With this in mind, the aforementioned Politico report added, “[S]ome lawmakers say they’ve had enough.”
Senate Democrats are making a renewed push to force through hundreds of military nominations and a handful of ambassadorships, noting that the war in Israel has added new urgency to break through the logjam. “I think this all argues for a pretty significant reform of the nominations process,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview.
The Connecticut Democrat added, “I’ve spoken to Republicans about this in the context of the Tuberville holds. My hope is that if none of these holds relents in the face of this crisis in the Middle East, some Republicans will be willing to take a look at some process changes.”
Similarly, Sen. Tim Kaine told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki this week that he’s “starting to hear” from Republican senators about the need for a change.
“They’re getting tired of Senator Tuberville’s shutdown of American military promotions,” the Virginia Democrat said. “When we get back, I think you’re gonna see this ice jam break, and we’re gonna start to confirm our military.”
For now, it’s not clear how, exactly, responsible senators would try to circumvent Tuberville’s blockade, but jumping through the procedural hoops and confirming military nominees one at a time — as the Alabaman has suggested — isn’t a realistic option: It would take well over 700 hours.