Tuberville Military Stunt Taints the Entire Senate
While responsibility falls squarely on the Alabama senator and other Republicans, Democrats haven’t handled things well either.
Gotcha.
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has been reckless in his eight-months-and-counting blocking of military promotions, but no one comes out of this looking good.
First, here’s where we are now. The Senate must confirm hundreds of military promotions, just as it has to confirm the president’s judicial and civilian executive branch nominations. It’s usually a routine procedure: The Senate votes on them in a single, quick package that takes only a few seconds of floor time. However, the procedure depends on everyone going along, and the Alabama lawmaker has placed a hold on all of them — essentially, forcing the Senate to fully debate and vote on each promotion separately.