CV NEWS FEED // Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville’s months-long hold on all senior Pentagon nominees is making it difficult to appoint a new Marine Corps leader, leaving the Marines without a leader for the first time in 164 years.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger retired on Monday and left Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith as acting commandant of the Marine Corps. Smith needs to be confirmed by the Senate to become the official head of the Marine Corps. Because Tuberville has exercised a universal hold on appointments of high-ranking military posts for months, however, Smith’s confirmation could be delayed indefinitely.
This leaves the Marines officially leaderless, an event which has not occurred since 1859, when Commandant Archibald Henderson died without a successor.
As reported by CatholicVote, Tuberville has used his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to block about 250 appointments since March, in response to a Defense Department policy that funds active service members’ abortions, including travel expenses to obtain an abortion. Tuberville and other Republicans claim that the policy violates the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortions.
According to The Hill, Tuberville’s hold on appointees could affect more than just the Marines. Tuberville could block nominees for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among which would be a replacement for chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who is set to retire in September.
Tuberville wrote an opinion article in the Washington Post in June, arguing that his actions do not affect national security.
“[M]y hold is not affecting readiness,” he wrote. “Acting officials are in each one of the positions that are due for a promotion. The hold affects only those at the very top — generals and flag officers. The people who actually fight are not affected at all.”
Major Anis Abuzeid, USMC (retired) sees Tuberville’s hold on appointments as a good thing: “The outgoing Marine Corps commandant has ordered cessation of Marine scout snipers, arguably the best snipers in the world and a force multiplier in combat. Acting commandants and senior level billet holders tend to not make sweeping policy changes like that. Maybe slow rolling confirmed billet holders is best for the service.”
Tuberville said in his opinion piece that he will continue the block until the law is either followed or changed.
