Tuberville’s Ban on Promotions Comes to an End – But Military Trust Issues Remain

Just hours after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama agreed to lift his monthslong hold on U.S. military promotions for admirals and generals Tuesday, the Senate confirmed more than 400 of them by voice vote.

The hold had been in place since February – when the Republican senator started a personal protest against a Department of Defense policy on access to abortion. Roughly a dozen four-star officers still await confirmations, which appear likely to move forward by individual Senate votes.

The challenge ahead, analysts say, will be rebuilding trust with a U.S. military community that had been deeply affected by the political move, but that suffered largely in silence for fear of jeopardizing their loved ones’ chances of moving up through the ranks.

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For months, one U.S. senator blocked key military promotions over a policy dispute. The logjam has finally ended, but it left military families feeling unfairly treated and vulnerable to Washington politics.

At issue in the dispute was a Pentagon policy, adopted last year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, that offers travel funds for troops and their dependents who seek abortions, when the procedure is no longer legal in the states where they live. Senator Tuberville blocked high-level officer promotions as a form of protest. (He argued the travel funding violates the Hyde Amendment, which largely bars the federal government from paying for abortions). Read more