US Navy joins Army, Marine Corps in having no Senate-confirmed leader, in historic first

www.reuters.com US Navy joins Army, Marine Corps in having no Senate-confirmed leader, in historic first

The U.S. Navy on Monday became the third branch of the military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in history, as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations.

WASHINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Monday became the third branch of the military to no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in history, as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations.
Retiring Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday gave up command on Monday. The Navy, Army and Marine Corps are now all without a confirmed leader.

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US Navy joins Army, Marine Corps in having no Senate-confirmed leader, in historic first

www.reuters.com /world/us/us-navy-joins-army-marine-corps-having-no-senate-confirmed-leader-historic-first-2023-08-14/

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In one way, this can actually be seen as a good thing for Biden. It is the duty of the Senate to advise and consent. The Senate has effectively abdicated that duty. The job of doing appointments for the military now rests solely in the hands of the executive branch, President Biden.
- Obama should have done that with the Supreme Court.
  
  There is this legal theory that refusal to take a vote on something you're constitutional obligated to do is equivalent to accepting by unanimous consent. Obama wouldn't test it... unfortunately.
- This should be grounds to dismiss the senate and call new elections
  
  I'll assume you aren't an American (or that you're joking), but the US has no procedures to "dismiss" a legislative body. The US is a presidential republic with regularly scheduled elections at fixed dates, and there is no such thing as a "Snap Election".
  
  I sure love it when the President can dissolve legislative branches until he gets the party that he wants.😐

Tuberville does not live in Alabama, doesn't own property there, nor is he really from there. Hiw he can be their senator boggles the mind.

What procedural step is being abused here to allow one Senator to have this much influence? Or is this another case of one Senator being the face while backed by the rest of their party?
- The rules to filabuster are sadly very loose. This guy pretty much just has to say he is filabustering. He doesn't have to stand and talk to block it.
  
  Not so much a rule. More like convention. The whole saying "I'm going to filibuster," and that counts, is new. Also the filibuster is also not really a rule either. It's the interpretation of the rule that a member of Congress can't be forced to give up their time on the floor

Tuberville and his white supremacist tantrum, what a garbage person.

Are you effing kidding me? He’s blocking it because he doesn’t like the idea of soldiers getting abortions.
- You can kill foreign children, but not your red-blooded American fetuses.
  
  Even American children, if they’re not the right color or their parents aren’t from the “correct” end of the political spectrum. But so help me, if you so much as think of touching a good old free-range, pasture-fed American fetus, I will fucking end you.
  /s

This is the best summary I could come up with:
And it is unsafe," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a relinquishment ceremony at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, who represents Alabama, has blocked hundreds of military nominations from moving forward, saying the Pentagon is improperly using government funding to cover travel costs for abortions for service members and their dependents.
It’s hindering our ability to retain our very best officers and it’s upending the lives of far too many American military families," Austin added.
President Joe Biden has nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an historic step that would break a gender barrier in the U.S. military by making her the first woman to command the service and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - if and when the Senate confirms her.
Several states have limited abortion access since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the military argues that women service members cannot choose where they are stationed.
Tuberville's hold cannot prevent the Democratic-majority Senate from voting on any promotion, but it can drastically slow down the process.
I'm a bot and I'm open source!

isnt the President the leader of all armed forces?
- Yes, but Senate approval for higher promotions is supposed to function as a check on the presidents' military powers. I'm by no means an expert, but I think the idea is that having the Senate vote to approve or deny promotions of a certain level or above keeps the president from installing a bunch of loyal followers to key positions and then dissolving the other branches of government through threat or use of his new personal military force.

24 comments