Tuberville working with GOP detractors to resolve military holds

Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Wednesday said he and his fellow lawmakers were hoping to soon reach an agreement to end his months-long hold on Pentagon nominations.

Speaking to Politico, Tuberville stated that he and his fellow Armed Services Committee members were holding meetings on the matter "[t]rying to get some kind of resolution before we get home for Christmas."

"We've got a couple of weeks," he went on. "We’ve got to do this the right way. It’s been 10 months. I want to get this over with too, if we do it the right way."

Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, for his part, has criticized Tuberville's efforts but says he is discussing proposals with the Alabama lawmaker.

"I sat down with him on the way forward. I’ve been working Sen. Tuberville for a long time on this. But at a certain point? I’ve been 100 percent that someone needs to stand up for the troops," he told Politico.

Sullivan, earlier this month, was one of a group of senators who led an effort to break through Tuberville's hold, bringing up a litany of nominees in a single night, reading out their biographies, and heaping praise upon each, only to have the senator object to their confirmations, the Associated Press reported. 

Tuberville has, for months, prevented the Senate from confirming Pentagon promotions in batches via unanimous consent, as is typical, in a bid to protest the Department of Defense's policy of providing paid leave for military servicemembers to obtain abortions. His maneuver has frustrated many of his Senate Republican colleagues, with whom he has recently worked to devise a solution.

He has further insisted that the holds to not impact military readiness, given that many of those awaiting official Senate confirmation currently serve in their nominated position in an acting capacity.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.