Tuberville Insists ‘It Was Pretty Much a Draw’ After He Caves on Blocking Military Nominations

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) dropped his 10-month blockade of hundreds of military nominations on Tuesday and insisted his gambit led to a “draw.”

The senator began placing holds on Department of Defense nominees en masse earlier this year to protest a policy reimbursing service members’ out-of-state travel costs when they obtain abortions. President Joe Biden enacted the measure when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year and some states began banning abortion. The provision ensures that service members stationed in states where the practice is illegal do not have to cover travel expenses out of pocket.

Typically, most Pentagon nominees are confirmed by the Senate via unanimous consent, whereby the mere lack of an objection is sufficient to green-light nominees. But Tuberville availed himself of a Senate rule allowing him to single-handedly block nominees to be confirmed this way – to the tune of more than 400 promotions. While the Senate could vote on each nominee individually to overcome the block, that would have taken hundreds of hours of floor time.

His capitulation wasn’t total, however, as he is still blocking 11 four-star generals. As such, those nominees will need to be confirmed by a vote.

On Tuesday, CNN’s Lauren Fox caught up with the senator outside the Capitol.

“Senator Tuberville, do you have any regrets that you didn’t achieve exactly what you set out to do – that the policy is still in place?” she asked.

“It was pretty much a draw,” he replied. “They didn’t get what they wanted. We didn’t get what we wanted.”

He concluded, “It’s over.”

Tuberville had faced increasing frustration over the holds from members of his own party. In November, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) scolded him on the Senate floor in a dramatic speech.

Watch above via CNN.

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