WASHINGTON — As U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s one-man blockade of military promotions nears the six-month mark, Sen. Mazie Hirono and other Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee are reaching out to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to intervene.

What You Need To Know

  • Since February, Tuberville, R-Ala., has taken advantage of a Senate rule that enables a single lawmaker to stall nominations indefinitely

  • Tuberville is opposed to a new Pentagon policy that allows the pregnant military personnel to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they need to travel out of state to receive abortion services; the senator said he will not consent to resuming Senate action on military promotions unless Democrats introduce and pass legislation that rescinds the policy

  • On Monday, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono and others sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling on him to help resolve the impasse

  • While Tuberville has some support within his party, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — including McConnell — have been critical of him politicizing what is usually a bipartisan process and the damaging effects this could have on U.S. Armed Forces and national security

Since February, Tuberville, R-Ala., has taken advantage of a Senate rule that enables a single lawmaker to stall nominations indefinitely.

Military promotions are traditionally grouped together and passed on a simple voice vote. Given the number of nominations currently on hold — more than 260 to date — the alternative of holding individual roll-call votes on each nomination, the only option unless Tuberville relents, would take months to complete, even if it were feasible for the body to devote all of its working hours to the effort.

For Tuberville, the issue is a new Pentagon policy, instituted in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade and the subsequent move by individual states to severely restrict abortion access, that allows the pregnant military personnel to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they need to travel out of state to receive abortion services. The senator said he will not consent to resuming Senate action on military promotions unless Democrats introduce and pass legislation that rescinds the policy.

While Tuberville has some support within his party, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — including McConnell — have been critical of politicizing what is usually a bipartisan process and of its potentially damaging effects on U.S. Armed Forces and national security.

On Monday, Armed Services Committee members Hirono, D-Hawaii; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Sen. Angus King, D-Maine; Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. sent a letter to McConnell, calling on him to help resolve the impasse. 

“Since February, Sen. Tommy Tuberville has been single-handedly blocking the promotion of hundreds of generals and admirals, threatening our national security and the orderly and necessary leadership transitions typical of our professional military, over his disagreement with the DOD’s travel policy,” the senators wrote. “We know you share our concerns about the consequences of this hold on our Armed Services, and as the leader of your conference, we urge you to take stronger action to resolve this situation.”

As the lawmakers noted, the U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed Commandant for the first time in the Corps’ 164 years and key military roles, including nearly half of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are at risk of going unfilled.

“In the coming months, more than half of the current Joint Chiefs are required to vacate their posts, and due to Sen. Tuberville’s stonewalling, they’ll do so without a Senate-approved successor in place,” the lawmakers continued. “During this time of heightened global tensions, failing to fill these critical positions is not only imprudent but risks our national security.”

Hirono has been outspoken on Tuberville’s controversial stand. In May, she joined Blumenthal, Duckworth and Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., in unsuccessfully calling for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to confirm the military nominations that were being blocked. She has also repeatedly criticized Tuberville on the floor and in the media.

On May 17, Hirono spoke of the consequences of Tuberville blocking promotions, noting that among the positions that have since gone unfilled are commander of the Navy Sea Systems Command, who is responsible for overseeing the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, which includes the Pearl Harbor shipyard.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.

NOTE: An earlier version of this story included Sen. Mazie Hirono's comment from May 17 that the position of director of the Defense Logistics Agency is unfilled and that the agency is responsible for the defueling and closing of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. These comments were inaccurate and have been removed from the text.