US Navy Is Third Branch Of Military Without Confirmed Leader

The U.S. Navy has become the third branch of the military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in history, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)  continues to block hundreds of military nominations. https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1691130089331679232 From Forbes:

Tuberville first started blocking confirmations of high-ranking generals and admirals in February.

Since that time he’s blocked at least 270 military nominations through a senatorial hold—an informal practice that can’t completely stop a nominee’s confirmation but does force the nomination to take place on the Senate floor, a much longer process that would now take months to complete because of the number of blocked nominations.

The Alabama senator is blocking the nominations in an effort to force the Pentagon to reverse a policy that gives service members time off and travel reimbursement if they seek out-of-state abortions.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has publicly denounced Tuberville’s blocking of nominations: “This is unprecedented. It is unnecessary. And it is unsafe.” Tuberville has also been embroiled in another issue has he has doubled down on saying “white nationalists” are not racist, they are just “Americans.” https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1688989699598135296