Schumer gives GOP ultimatum for Tuberville to drop blockade of Pentagon nominees

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer warned Republicans on Thursday they have two weeks for Sen. Tommy Tuberville to end his hold on hundreds of military promotions over the Pentagon ‘s abortion policy.

Mr. Schumer said will bring legislation to a vote for a temporary rule change to circumvent Mr. Tuberville if the Alabama Republican does not relent on his blockade before the end of this year.

The Senate will be in session just two more weeks before departing Dec. 15 for the holidays.

“We’re willing to let the Republicans solve this on their own,” Mr. Schumer , New York Democrat, said in a floor speech. “Let me be clear: if Republicans are not able to get Sen. Tuberville to stand down quickly, we are going to hold a vote on our resolution to confirm these nominees before we leave this year.”

The ultimatum from Mr. Schumer comes after roughly 10 months of Mr. Tuberville blocking unanimous confirmation of Pentagon nominees that have accumulated to a backlog of more than 400.

The temporary rule change would confirm all pending nominations en bloc and prevent any one senator from issuing blanket holds through the end of this Congress. Democrats currently lack the nine GOP votes that they’ll need to surmount the 60-vote filibuster threshold, but the tides could be turning.

A handful of Senate Republicans tell The Washington Times they are reluctantly considering siding with Democrats, over mounting frustration and concerns that Mr. Tuberville , a former Auburn University football coach, is impeding national security.

“I think it’s something we have to consider since it’s being threatened to be shoved down our throats,” said Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a veteran and Republican leadership member. “We have offered to Coach Tuberville a number of off-ramps.”

Republicans say the Pentagon policy, which provides travel expenses and paid time off for out-of-state abortions of servicemembers, is illegal because it amounts to taxpayer-funded abortions.

Mr. Tuberville has remained steadfast in his holds and has so far rejected several proposals from Republicans to relent, such as having House Speaker Mike Johnson file a legal challenge against the Pentagon .

Mr. Tuberville has expressed willingness to potentially allow some nominees to be confirmed, but it’s unclear who or when.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, Alaska Republican, is scrambling to negotiate a solution with Mr. Tuberville to avoid Mr. Schumer ‘s vote.

“I would really hope that those [discussions] accelerate and intensify in a way that we’re not being forced to make a vote on something that shouldn’t be necessary,” Senate GOP Whip John Thune told The Times. “It worries me about changing the rules and creating a precedent down the road.”

• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at .