The U.S. Navy on Monday became the third branch of the military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in history, as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations.
WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Monday became the third branch of the military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in history, as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations.
Retiring Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday gave up command on Monday. The Navy, Army and Marine Corps are now all without a confirmed leader.
In one way, this can actually be seen as a good thing for Biden. It is the duty of the Senate to advise and consent. The Senate has effectively abdicated that duty. The job of doing appointments for the military now rests solely in the hands of the executive branch, President Biden.
There is this legal theory that refusal to take a vote on something you're constitutional obligated to do is equivalent to accepting by unanimous consent. Obama wouldn't test it... unfortunately.
What procedural step is being abused here to allow one Senator to have this much influence? Or is this another case of one Senator being the face while backed by the rest of their party?
Not so much a rule. More like convention. The whole saying "I'm going to filibuster," and that counts, is new. Also the filibuster is also not really a rule either. It's the interpretation of the rule that a member of Congress can't be forced to give up their time on the floor
Even American children, if they’re not the right color or their parents aren’t from the “correct” end of the political spectrum. But so help me, if you so much as think of touching a good old free-range, pasture-fed American fetus, I will fucking end you.
And it is unsafe," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a relinquishment ceremony at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, who represents Alabama, has blocked hundreds of military nominations from moving forward, saying the Pentagon is improperly using government funding to cover travel costs for abortions for service members and their dependents.
It’s hindering our ability to retain our very best officers and it’s upending the lives of far too many American military families," Austin added.
President Joe Biden has nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an historic step that would break a gender barrier in the U.S. military by making her the first woman to command the service and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - if and when the Senate confirms her.
Several states have limited abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the military argues that women service members cannot choose where they are stationed.
Tuberville's hold cannot prevent the Democratic-majority Senate from voting on any promotion, but it can drastically slow down the process.