Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth penned an op-ed earlier this week that panned Tuberville for eroding the “foundation” of the military, which already has Senate-confirmed vacancies atop the Army, Navy and the Marine Corps — the first time three services have been with acting heads.
The trio also said that Tuberville’s hold is “exacting a personal toll on those who least deserve it,” including the families of those military figures who are being held up.
The comments came as senators returned to Washington Tuesday for the first time in more than a month with Tuberville’s hold at a complete standstill and lawmakers still at a complete loss on how to find an off ramp.
His blockade, a protest of a Pentagon abortion policy enacted late last year that covers travel expenses for abortion care, is set to hit the six-month mark later this week.
Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) — the top GOP member on the Senate Armed Services Committee — argued Tuesday that Democrats should consider a one-off vote later this month on Charles Q. Brown Jr.’s nomination to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs when current Chairman Mark Milley’s term ends Oct. 1.
“I’m not,” Wicker said when asked if he’s seeing any movement toward getting Tuberville to relent, adding that he has not talked with him in “several weeks.”
But Democrats have for months argued that Tuberville’s holds are a puzzle Senate Republicans have to solve.
On Tuesday they maintained that holding individual votes on some of the highest-level military vacancies — including the Army, Navy and Marines chiefs — would create a slippery slope.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
