After nearly a year, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has lifted virtually all of his holds on military promotions that gridlocked the Senate and delayed hundreds of confirmations.

The normally routine process came to a halt when Tuberville announced the blanket hold in mid-February in protest of Defense Department policies concerning abortion, including a provision reimbursing service members for abortions if they need to travel outside their state for one if abortion is illegal where they are stationed.

Alabama’s senior senator backed down on Tuesday, nearly 10 months after he initiated the holds that drew the ire of Democrats, including President Joe Biden.

Still, of the more than 400 military officers Biden nominated to promote, a little more than a dozen four-star generals are subject to the holds, the senator said.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., urged Tuberville to lift the holds on all the nominees, claiming the standstill “hurt America”:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would “move forward ASAP” in the chamber to promote the bulk of the military members:

Tuberville’s backing down came as the Senate moved forward with a plan to circumvent his blockade. A resolution passed the Senate Rules Committee last month to allow the Senate to approve the nominees in a large group.

But Tuberville ending his holds makes the resolution moot.

Alabama’s senior senator had been facing pressure from some in his own party to end the holds.

Last month, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he was frustrated with Tuberville’s tactics, and claimed America’s adversaries were delighting in the gridlock caused by his colleague.

“By the way, [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is watching this right now, going, ‘I can’t believe they’re not letting these guys command. I’m scared to death of subs.’ He’s loving this. So is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. They’re loving it,” Sullivan said as he and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, failed to advance the nominations. “How dumb can we be, man?”

Now, Schumer is set to put the nominees not subject to the holds for a vote before the full Senate.

Senate Democrats have not scheduled the nominations or the Rules Committee resolution for a vote.