CNN
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Nearly five months after Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville announced his hold on Defense Department nominees, the tactic has become a major point of interest in the U.S. Senate as institutionalists in the body express their concern that retention may have long-term repercussions and openly warn. a review of the nomination process might be necessary.
Despite the efforts of Republican colleagues, Tuberville has been resolute, holding off on the nomination of some 250 military nominees, many promotions that would normally be fast-tracked in the Senate. The dramatic impasse has senators openly questioning whether it’s time for the body to consider changing the rules or, at the very least, limiting the number of nominations that require Senate confirmation.
“Maybe we need another band to propose a set of rule changes, but the vast majority of us who understand these tools should be used sparingly, I think we need to raise our voices,” said Sen, Mark Warner , a Democrat from Virginia. , said
The angst is bipartisan, as senators fear another gridlock in a Senate that already legislates very little in a divided government.
“Are we all going to start taking hostages now?” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said.
Ultimately, a Senate hold cannot prevent a nominee from being confirmed. But, it may force Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to burn valuable time in a process that otherwise could have moved much more quickly.
It’s a tactic that has been used in the past and intensified in the last Congress when Republican Sen. Josh Hawley held Pentagon nominees back for several months over the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
But what makes Tuberville’s control more dramatic is the fact that it also includes a hold on military promotions, which senators argue are not political nominees. In the case of Tuberville Cellars, there are now more than 250 promotions and military nominations in arrears. Putting each one in the ground would take months to complete. Tuberville’s move stems from her opposition to a Pentagon abortion policy.
Tuberville’s control is by far the most impactful in the Senate, but it’s not the only obstacle facing the candidates. Republican Sen. JD Vance announced in June that he would block Justice Department nominees after Trump was indicted on federal charges, but there are only two nominees in the pipeline, who were always expected to take significant time to get there . approved Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has warned he will oppose the Biden administration’s health care nominees as he pushes the administration to do more to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
The mere optics of agency-wide opposition is becoming a major issue for senators who say it is undermining the decorum and efficiency of the Senate.
“If you don’t like someone who’s been nominated, vote against them,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire. “Holding things up is not in the best interest of the country’s national security. We have all these ambassadors, general officers. Now we’re talking about holding all the nominees to the Department of Justice. If you don’t want to be here and work on policy, why have you come?”
It’s not unusual for a lawmaker to use a single-candidate hold, either because of concerns about the candidate or as a way to extract leverage from the administration, but members complain that increasing holdouts across the ‘agency is being abused and the capacity of the Senate is being undermined. to play a fundamental role.
“Retaining a nominee or even briefly retaining a handful of nominees has been a way that senators have occasionally exercised some leverage against an agency that wouldn’t cough up information or an administration that wouldn’t release a report , but now it’s completely changed,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. “Now, these are broad controls, and in the case of Senator Tuberville, they undermine our national security. This is kind of hell bent on destruction which is another sign of how broken this Congress has become.”
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, argued that growing opposition across the agency “risks further degrading the Senate’s ability to carry out its essential advisory and consent function.”
Some members are so fed up that they argue that the Senate should look at overhauling the nomination rules.
“One person should not be able to do an action like this. We have to look at the rules of the Senate to think about whether we should say it has to be at least five people instead of one,” argued independent senator Angus King.
But it’s a delicate balance. Any action Senate Democrats take now to address Tuberville’s restrictions on military promotions would have to be incredibly tailored or Democrats risk Republicans using the rule change in the future to fast-track Democratic nominees may find controversial.
Another option would be to pass a law that would allow military promotions to go forward without Senate consent, but it is not clear that it would have the votes to pass. Lawmakers could also limit the number of nominees who need Senate confirmation, a process that would need bipartisan buy-in.
“Do we really need deputy assistant secretaries to go through this whole process?” Warner said. “The other thing is that a lot of these men and women who want to serve in appointed positions have to literally put their lives literally in limbo for sometimes six to 12 months.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, warned that he believes senators can use their influence over candidates, but even he worries that if the agency’s reservations are used too often, it will lead to a change of rules
“We have to make sure we give every senator as much power as possible. It was meant to be, it always has been. I just want to make sure it’s not abused to the point where maybe we change the rules, that’s a slope slippery,” Grassley said.
For their part, senators with agency-wide posts argue that it is their prerogative to use the rules to their advantage.
“Well, this group will try to change anything to make it work for them. But those are the rules. We can take whatever we want,” Tuberville said.
Vance said he is in control.
“I think the way Merrick Garland has politicized the Department of Justice sets a bad precedent for American justice and somebody needs to push back,” Vance said.
For now, Democratic leaders aren’t planning any immediate action, instead hoping the GOP leadership will find a way to talk Tuberville out of his grip.
“We’re trying everything we can think of, but mostly, we’re appealing to other Republicans who we think are reasonable to come back,” said Democrat Dick Durbin.
