Angry Republican senators challenged Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers last night, taking over the Senate floor for hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a monthslong stalemate. Via Associated Press:
Tuberville stood and objected over and over again, extending his holds on the military confirmations and promotions with no immediate resolution in sight. But the extraordinary confrontation between Republicans, boiling over nine months after Tuberville first announced the holds over a Pentagon abortion policy, escalated the standoff as Defense Department officials have repeatedly said the backlog of officials needing confirmation could endanger national security.
“Why are we putting holds on war heroes?” asked Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, himself a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. “I don’t understand.”
Sullivan said if the standoff continues and officers leave the military, Tuberville’s blockade will be remembered as a “national security suicide mission.”
For weeks, Tuberville said he didn't understand why the Senate didn't just vote on each individual nomination. Well, last night, that's what Republicans tried to do -- and he objected anyway.
Anyway, it's so refreshing to watch Republicans actually try to do their jobs.
