The arcane rules that the US senate has set for itself gives enormous powers to even a single senator to gum up the works. Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville used this power to hold up the promotions and transfers of 451 military personnel for nine months. The reason? He was unhappy that the military would pay for the abortions of personnel who were forced to travel to another state to have them because the state they were in banned them. This policy is not specific to abortions but is part of the military’s general health care policy that covers any treatment that requires such travel. He was demanding that the abortion requirement be removed beforehe would release the holds.
This hold caused a lot of problems for the officers involve since it complicated the planning of them and their families since where they would live was in limbo. It even irritated Tuberville’s Republican colleagues but they were unwilling to do anything drastic to overcome his hold.
Then today, Tuberville suddenly announced that he was lifting the hold on all but the promotions of 12 four-star officers.
Tommy Tuberville is dropping most of his months-long holds on military officer nominations in the Senate, backing down from his vow to block them until the Pentagon changes an internal abortion policy.
The Alabama Republican plans to continue his holds on four-star nominees, he told reporters, but will release the rest effective immediately. That means the Senate can move to confirm most of them as soon as Tuesday evening, and possibly all of them before the new year.
…Schumer told reporters the Senate will move “as soon as possible” to confirm the outstanding nominees, which are typically approved via unanimous consent. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said that “should be today.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told POLITICO he expects Democrats will discuss voting on the other four-star officers this month. The Senate only has one more full week of session and confirming those officers one at a time would take several days. Reed suggested individual roll-call votes on the four-star nominees could happen “if necessary.”
Another example that what Republicans do best is create obstacles over their pet obsessions.
It is also similar to the debate over whether the Iliad was written by Homer, or by another man with the same name. 😉
Tuberville is an irresponsible dick.
Britain: “Hold my beer”
Boris Johnson’s plan to invade the Netherlands
https://youtu.be/syXj7BG1ZvE
I am tempted to yell ‘how do these people get elected?’ but I already know about biased media and low-information voters.
“Boris Johnson’s plan to invade the Netherlands”
He wanted to ensure a supply of cheap nutmeg and cloves for the holidays? Or perhaps he thought wooden shoes would be the next fashion fad and he wanted to corner the market? Conservatives do always think the past is superior to the present.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/04/dutch-media-report-claim-boris-johnson-planned-raid-on-vaccine-plant-in-2021
I don’t normally say things like this but I think this is one of those rare occasions where it’s best to crush the opposition. Make it so painful they just whimper and crawl away while hoping no one ever mentions this topic again. They have a week left? Ram through as many votes on authorizing every single promotion, including the 4 star promotions, as possible.
Even if you want to compromise with incompetent scumbags like this you can’t. He’s just walking away with a win and hoping the pressure eases up. Meanwhile his pointless antics are still crippling the military. I’m not in the military so I’m just guessing here, but at that level I would imagine they have some control over their staff. So in addition to messing with the person receiving the promotion and the person having to act in their stead until they get it, they’re also messing with whatever staff may or may not stay or be brought on.
About the only thing you get by compromising with Tuberville now is narrowing it down to 4 stories. You can tell 4 stories and use them to take him down. Show exactly where and how his little tantrum is doing harm. But that’s going to take a long time to hurt him.
For what it’s worth I’m not really a fan of the military. I think we end up in a lot of conflicts we shouldn’t be in. But those decisions are made by civilians, not the military. I think if we ask someone to risk being in harms way that’s enough. Asking them to also be props for your pointless political tantrums would be too much on any normal job, much less a military job you can’t leave.
#@1: Conceivably, the Odyssey could have been written by a man named Homer, and then the Iliad could have been written later by another man named Homer. In that case, the Iliad would indeed have been written, not by Homer, but by another man of the same name.
I can’t imagine that the USA military has the greatest regard for Tuberville.
A lot of brass, in particular.
[not a lot of bras]
Pardon me please, but I’m confused.
This prick is a senator. Where does he fit in the chain of command? How does he even have any information AT ALL about what are essentially HR matters internal to the armed forces? The chair of Hereford parish council doesn’t have any input to the selection procedures for the SAS. What kind of cowboy outfit IS the US Army?
sonofrojblake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_hold
I’ve seen it suggested that Tuberville’s real aim was to hold the posts open so Trump could appoint his cronies if he wins next year. Obviously the most senior positions would be the most important in that regard, although since it appears the Democrats could push through the 12 Tuberville is still holding hostage one at a time, they could have done so for those positions anyway. So maybe sheer pig-headed forced-birthism is the best explanation after all.
To be more clear: Tuberville was protesting the military spending money to cover the travel of women to get health care that wasn’t available in their state. To make this even more egregious, the military pays all the time to send service members or their family to get health care that is not available locally. Things like advanced cancer, brain surgery, certain neurological conditions, developmental issues in children…the list goes on and on and on. Any service person with a family member with needs like that enrolls in the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) for support of the issue. That military person can request to only be posted to locations with services nearby to cater to the EFM. So the military was already paying to send troops out-of-state; Tuberville is just angry that travel for abortion care thwarts his anti-choice stance.
Anecdata time: when I was stationed in England, my dorm (barracks) mate had teeth that were so jacked up from a childhood of no dental care, that he was flown to a base in Germany (about 90 minutes by plane) for a month of extractions and dental surgery. But that’s not abortion care, so obvious Tuberville wouldn’t have cared less.
If you walk beside Tuberville along a railway track, you know what to do when a train passes.
@13
[trip]
[bump]
“Oops!”