Senate headed for vote on deputy Marine chief caught up in Tuberville blockade

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is forcing a vote on the Pentagon’s nominee for deputy Marine chief after Commandant Eric Smith suffered an apparent heart attack over the weekend.

The deputy, a four-star post, would ordinarily take over for the Marine chief, but Tuberville’s blanket hold has meant a three-star is performing Smith’s duties following his hospitalization. Democrats used the absence to pressure Tuberville to lift his blockade, citing it as evidence of the impact it is having on national security.

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Tuberville hopes to neutralize that critique, filing what’s known as a cloture petition to bring the nomination of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to the floor for a vote.

“We need to make sure we take care of business for that,” he told the Washington Examiner, adding that he collected the 17 necessary signatures to file.

The episode is reminiscent of a petition Tuberville, facing criticism from within his own party, filed in September to tee up a vote on Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ultimately preempted Tuberville, scheduling votes on Brown and two other Joint Chiefs nominees.

The Senate appears headed for a repeat. Schumer, though he leads the chamber, must still collect signatures for a petition of his own to schedule the nomination. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told the Washington Examiner he had signed such a petition.

Mahoney is just one of roughly 300 officers caught up in Tuberville’s hold, placed in March in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy.

Senate Republicans support the intention behind the blockade — keeping Pentagon dollars from being used to pay for abortion travel — but have grown increasingly restless over the tactic.

“I’m sure you remember that I said this was a bad idea quite a while ago, and I still think it’s a bad idea, particularly applied to people who don’t make policy,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters on Tuesday. “So, I have been among those trying to convince Sen. Tuberville to express his opposition some other way.”

The Senate operates by unanimous consent, meaning any one member can block the chamber from considering the nominations in batches, as is traditionally done. Schumer could still take up the nominees one by one, but only by burning weeks of floor time.

Democrats have denounced the holds as a form of hostage-taking, while Tuberville says the Pentagon is acting unconstitutionally.

Tuberville is not the only Republican considering petitions to advance select nominees. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is preparing to force votes on the vacancies for Air Force chief of staff and chief of naval operations. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are considering a rules change to evade the blockade entirely.

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Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told the Washington Examiner he’s had several recent conversations on the Senate floor to convince Republicans to support the change.

Sullivan did not sign Tuberville’s petition on Tuesday but expressed his willingness to do so. Senators including Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 3 Republican in the Senate, were among those who signed.

Emily Jacobs contributed to this report.