Schumer Forced to Work Around Tuberville’s Blockade as Senate Confirms Next Joint Chiefs Chairman

In a vote of 83 to 11, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed General Charles Q. Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The vote follows a months-long hold of more than 300 military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Tuberville is holding up votes over his opposition to a Pentagon policy reimbursing travel costs for service members who travel out of state for abortions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) again slammed Tuberville for the blockade on Wednesday, and said the Senate will confront “his obstruction head on.” Tuberville has refused to drop his holds, insisting instead that Schumer set up individual votes on each nominee. Rep. Schumer ultimately caved to Tuberville’s demand, and agreed to have three positions voted on separately rather than as part of the bloc held up by Tuberville. On Thursday, the Senate is holding votes to confirm the new Army chief of staff and the new Marine Corps commandant. "We finally came to a little bit of a conclusion," Mr. Tuberville told reporters Wednesday. "But it's about time. We should have done these a long time ago, but we're making progress. Again, I still have my holds and will continue to do that. We might bring some more up ourselves, through our petition that we're able to get now. But I'm glad we're making some progress. It's a win for the legislative branch." Gen. Brown is currently the chief of staff of the Air Force. Before that, he served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces—the air component of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. He has also commanded a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, and the U.S. Air Force Weapons School.