The U.S. Senate, circumventing holds by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, on Thursday confirmed the nominations of two senior military leaders, including the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Adm. Lisa Franchetti was confirmed by a vote of 95-1 to lead the Navy, making her the first woman to serve as a Pentagon service chief and hold a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. David Allvin was also confirmed by a vote of 95-1 to be chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. The Senate was expected to vote later Thursday to confirm Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to serve as assistant commandant for the U.S. Marine Corps.
If confirmed, Mahoney could immediately step in as acting commandant, temporarily taking over after Gen. Eric Smith, the commandant, was hospitalized on Sunday after suffering a medical emergency at his official residence in Washington. Tuberville has challenged Schumer to put each nomination on the floor — a process that could take weeks or months as each nomination requires multiple days and multiple votes to get around the objection. Schumer has so far resisted, hoping to force Tuberville's hand, but he has relented in the case of some top military officers.
Reed said that Franchetti’s nomination also marks an important point in history. “I’m glad we’ve reached this moment,” he said. “At every step of her career, Adm. Franchetti has been a trailblazer.” Tuberville said Wednesday there is “zero chance” he will drop the holds, which he first announced in February. Despite several high-level vacancies and the growing backlog of nominations, he has said he will continue to hold the nominees up unless the Pentagon ends — or puts to a vote in Congress — its new policy of paying for travel when a servicemember has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.
Sullivan said Tuberville is “100% wrong” that his holds are not affecting military readiness. Ernst said the nominees are being used as “political pawns.” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney advised Tuberville to try to negotiate an end to the standoff. All of them warned that good people would leave military service if the blockade continues.
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Senate overcomes Tuberville hold, confirms final Joint Chief nomineesMike Brest is a defense reporter at the Washington Examiner. Prior to joining the defense beat, he spent two years covering breaking news for the Examiner, and he worked at the Daily Caller in a similar capacity before that. Mike graduated from American University and is originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia.
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