A group of pro-defense Republican senators clashed with Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) into the early hours of Thursday morning, challenging him over his blockade of more than 400 military nominees that they warned is putting the nation’s national security at risk.
Tempers flared on the floor as Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) attempted for the second time in two weeks to move a batch of stalled military nominees through the Senate only to be met with objections from Tuberville and his ally, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Graham, who plans to introduce a 15-week national abortion ban later this Congress, said he supports Tuberville’s opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy but warned that Tuberville is “wrong” to hold up the military nominees.
“The wrong we’re creating here is to put our military at risk at a time of great need. If you do not believe these holds are having an effect on the military, I don’t question your sincerity, I question your judgment,” he said.
Young stood up on the floor to seek unanimous consent to approve the promotions of Naval Captains Kurtis Mole and Thomas Dickinson to rear admiral.
He read through Mole’s impressive biography, noting that he enlisted in the Navy in 1988, became a cryptologic technician before attending the Naval Academy and steadily worked is way up the chain of command through multiple deployments in the Arabian Gulf and Western Pacific.
But Lee objected to both nominees, speaking for more than an hour on the floor to explain why Tuberville is justified in using his power as a senator to insist on time-consuming floor votes for the noncontroversial nominees as a form of protest.
Lee spoke for so long that he appeared to be filibustering his colleagues’ attempts to seek unanimous consent to approve the promotions, prompting Young to vent his frustration with his Utah colleague shortly after 1:30 a.m.
“There are now tens, tens of Americans watching us on C-SPAN 2, captivated, I know, by the presentation of this evening,” Young said sarcastically. “Some may look upon these proceedings and think, ‘What a functional United States Senate.’ … Others will say perhaps it’s dysfunction,” the Indiana senator said, his voice full of exasperation.
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GOP senators clash with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville over military nominees late into the night, challenging him over his blockade of more than 400 military nominees that they warned is putting the nation’s national security at risk. https://t.co/dZHgNK8LGQ pic.twitter.com/BsoDTzy8Ff
— The Hill (@thehill) November 16, 2023
Noted constitutionalist https://t.co/MHhsk6gQaM
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) November 16, 2023
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