Senate Democrats are advancing a resolution in an effort to break through a hold Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has placed on confirmation votes for military nominees.
The resolution includes a limited exception that bars en bloc considerations for nominees to positions on the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff and for commanding officers of the various military combatant commands. The standing rule would not apply to non-military nominees awaiting Senate confirmation.
The standing rule would also have a limited duration. Mr. Reed’s resolution specifies this standing rule would be in place “during the 118th Congress,” which ends on Jan. 3, 2023.
Mr. Reed’s resolution comes as Senators have deliberated on a variety of ways to overcome Mr. Tuberville’s hold on military nominations, including changing senate rules. In comments to NBC News, Mr. Reed described his proposal as “a suspension of the rules technically” rather than a permanent or even temporary rule change.
Resolution Could Divide Republicans
Before Mr. Reed’s resolution can proceed, the Senate must first determine the number of votes it will require to pass. Democrats currently occupy 48 of the Senate’s 100 seats and control the Senate Majority with the support of three independent Senators, while Republicans control the 49 remaining Senate seats. The higher the vote threshold needed for Mr. Reed’s resolution, the more he will need Republican support for it to pass.NTD News contacted the office of Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough for her assessment on the vote threshold Mr. Reed’s resolution would have to meet to pass, but did not receive a response by the time this article was published.
While Senate Democrats have been unified in their opposition to Mr. Tuberville’s holds on military nominations, the views from Senate Republicans have been mixed. Many Republicans have supported the Alabama Senators’ pressure tactic against the DOD abortion travel policy, but some have raised concerns about the more than 370 military officers awaiting Senate action on their promotions and nominations.
At times on Wednesday night, the four Republican senators times voiced their opposition to the DOD abortion-travel policy but expressed concern that Mr. Tuberville’s method of forcing a change in policy had begun to harm military readiness and was unfair to the pending nominees. Still, Mr. Tuberville objected to the unanimous consent requests.
So far, no Senate Republican has publicly offered their support for Mr. Reed’s resolution.