Sen. Tommy Tuberville drops his hold on hundreds of military nominees

WASHINGTON – Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, announced Tuesday that he will abandon most of his months of control over hundreds of military nominations.

Tuberville told reporters that he has lifted his grip on all military promotions three stars or less, totaling more than 400 promotions.

“I am freeing everyone. I still have about 11 four-star generals in control. Everyone else is completely freed from me.” Tuberville told reporters. “But other than that, it’s over.”

The Alabama Republican had been delaying military nominations for months in protest of a Defense Department policy that allows service members to get reimbursed for abortion-related travel.

Tuberville had indicated last week that he could abandon some of his military promotions “very soon.” He did not specify at the time how many promotions he would allow, but he said that he wanted as many people as possible to pass through “in the next week or so” and that he would not decide based on ranking “levels.”

“I know these people need to be promoted,” he said last week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor last week that he would introduce a Democratic resolution to bypass the Tuberville restrictions, but it was unclear whether he would have the votes to pass it.

Frustrations with Tuberville among his own party are growing. But last week, Senate Republicans overwhelmingly expressed optimism that Tuberville would reach a resolution, ending the blockade of him, before leaving for the new year.

“I was involved in a lot of conversations over the weekend about this issue, and I think I’m hopeful,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday morning. “I’m hoping that today we can… Let’s… cross our fingers, we’ll see, I hope we make a breakthrough, but time will tell.”

This is a developing story. Please check for updates.