Dems working on circumventing most of Tommy Tuberville’s military holds
Senate Democrats are reportedly working on a way to circumvent most of the more than 300 holds on military promotions Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has held up since February.
The Democrats are crafting a resolution to allow most of the military nominees to be voted on with a single vote, Punchbowl News reported Thursday.
Under current Senate rules, each nomination has to be voted on individually, which Democrats said would take months.
Tuberville has put a blanket hold on the nominations over Department of Defense policies that allow service members to be reimbursed for travel while obtaining abortions.
Alabama’s senior senator claims the policy is illegal and can only be put in place through legislation.
Democrats were reluctant to work on the resolution because they believed Republicans should put pressure on Tuberville to end the holds, according to Punchbowl News.
The resolution would not apply to high-profile positions such as members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or military commanders.