Tuberville Looks for Next Steps as Schumer Lays Groundwork To End Blockade

Senator Schumer is signaling that he’s looking toward the end game in his efforts to put a stop to Senator Tuberville’s one-man blockade of Pentagon and military appointments and promotions. Mr. Tuberville is considering other means of getting what he wants.The Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday passed a resolution to temporarily adjust the rules for confirming military nominations and promotions, with Mr. Schumer saying it was specifically targeted at “nominations and promotions being blocked by Senator Tuberville.”“I was proud to vote in favor of this resolution,” Mr. Schumer said. “I’ll bring it to the floor so we can swiftly confirm these hundreds of nominations.”With the passage of the resolution out of committee, it looks like it’s only a matter of time until members of the Senate decide to end Mr. Tuberville’s blockade, which has come to frustrate both Democrats and Republicans.Democrats are also telegraphing that they intend to push forward with nominations and promotions before the end of the year, with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Reed, signaling that he’s out of patience on the issue.Mr. Schumer has put the onus on Senate Republicans to pressure Mr. Tuberville into ending his blockade, with Mr. Schumer saying during the Rules Committee markup, “If my Republican colleagues can’t convince Senator Tuberville to relent, I will bring it to the floor shortly for a vote.” Senator McConnell has so far opposed the resolution, voting against it in the Rules Committee markup and telling the Hill that he’s having “productive discussions” with Mr. Tuberville on the subject, adding that he doesn’t support going around him “at this particular moment.”Mr. McConnell’s position, though, could change at any moment, and Mr. Tubeville is planning his next move in his crusade to ensure the Pentagon does not reimburse women for travel expenses if they have to go out of state to receive an abortion or other reproductive care due to state laws where they are stationed.Punchbowl News reports that Mr. Tuberville is looking into a lawsuit alongside Senator Graham, attorney Jay Sekulow, and Speaker Johnson on the premise that the House never appropriated funds for reimbursing service members for their travel.“There’s a real strong possibility we could win this thing in court,” Mr. Graham told Punchbowl. “Holding up military nominees who are innocent of all of this is not the right answer.”

Tuberville Looks for Next Steps as Schumer Lays Groundwork To End Blockade

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