Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said Thursday that he has lifted a hold on promotions for Coast Guard officers despite an ongoing dispute with a shipbuilder in his state.

Scott placed the hold on the promotions in April because of questions pertaining to the construction of four new ships by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which were expected to be completed in 2023.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last year had reduced the number of ships from four to two, but the shipbuilders stopped working on the ships in November “due to significant financial strain caused by the program’s structure and conditions.”

The Floridian told Politico in a statement that he cares “deeply about these Coast Guard promotions” and that all parties involved have been "working together in good faith" toward an agreement that gets the ships built at an acceptable cost.

"The process still needs to be better," the senator said, adding that he would "fight to ensure there is more oversight and accountability of the Coast Guard and that we fix the Coast Guard procurement process going forward.”

Scott's tactic mirrored a similar move by Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who blocked the promotions of hundreds of military officers in 2023 in an attempt to get the Pentagon to change its abortion policies. 

The senator's move meant that the chamber could still confirm promotions for Coast Guard officers but could not do blanket approvals and would be forced to do so individually instead.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.