“I cannot help but think [that the vacancies have] added a level of complexity and danger to an already bad situation,” one DOD official said.

Pentagon officials have been frustrated for months over an Alabama senator’s blockade of more than 300 senior military nominations. But after the Marine Corps chief was hospitalized over the weekend, that frustration is turning into rage.

Gen. Eric Smith had been filling both the No. 1 and No. 2 Marine Corps posts from July until he was finally confirmed as commandant in September. He, along with more than 300 other senior officers, was swept up in the promotions blockade put in place by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy.

In an interview Wednesday, Tuberville brushed off the comments from the DOD officials.

“They’re looking for someone to blame it on, other than themselves,” he said. “We could have all these people confirmed if they’d have just gone by the Constitution.

“I don’t listen to these people,” he added. “They’re just looking for any possible way to get themselves out of a jam.”

  • @rifugee
    4•1 year ago

    Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the United States Senate allows the Senate to vote to limit debate by invoking cloture on the pending question. In most cases, however, this requires a majority of three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn (60 votes if there is no more than one vacancy),[3]: 15–17  so a minority of senators can block a measure, even if it has the support of a simple majority. In practice, most bills cannot pass the Senate without the support of at least 60 senators.

    …but clearly I didn’t know who I was talking with. You obviously know more about politics than anyone here, and since I can never hope to reach your level, I bow down to your experience.

    • @[email protected]
      -5•1 year ago

      Yes the rules AS CURRENTLY WRITTEN require that. Those rules can also be RE-Written which is exactly what I said to begin with! If you keep reading under the constitutional basis you will see:

      Through negative textual implication, the Constitution also gives a simple majority the power to set procedural rules.

      Procedural rules such as the above rule, can be rewritten with a simple majority.

      In fact not only am I telling you it works that way, it HAS actually worked that way!

      Notably, in 2013 and 2017, the Senate used the nuclear option to set a series of precedents that reduced the threshold for cloture on nominations to a simple majority.[5]: 3