Tommy Tuberville May Cost Republicans Their Summer Vacation

Senator Tommy Tuberville could cause for his Republican colleagues to work through their summer vacation if he continues holding up hundreds of military promotions over the Department of Defense's abortion policy.

Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has left open the possibility of keeping the Senate in session into the August recess amid calls from top Democrats to do so if that's what it takes to get Tuberville to give up his blockade of the promotion.

Bipartisan lawmakers have long worked together to approve military promotions in the Senate, but Tuberville has been blocking those promotions since February. Without Senate confirmation, more than 250 nominations have stalled.

Tuberville's blockade is part of his effort to demand that the Pentagon overturn its abortion policy, which provides travel expenses and paid leave for service members seeking the procedure. The Alabama Republican has faced criticisms from the White House, President Joe Biden's nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and even top Republicans, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip John Thune, who say they don't support his actions.

Although canceling the August recess is an extreme measure, some Democratic senators have called on Schumer to use a procedural motion to force a Senate vote on keeping senators in Washington, D.C. during Congress' annual five-week recess. This year's August recess is set to begin at the end of next week.

Those calls are gaining steam now that two other Republican senators are stalling nearly three dozen nominees for U.S. ambassadors. Senators J.D. Vance and Rand Paul are blocking the confirmation of those nominees, who are almost all career Foreign Service officers and enjoy majority support, citing concerns over diversity initiatives and research into COVID-19 origins.

"We've got to be willing to stay through the August recess or through weekends in order to move these ambassadors," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told Punchbowl News. He said while the public might not understand why it's critical to swiftly confirm these ambassadors, he warned that it could harm national security.

"It's not rocket science. We just have to be willing to put in the time," he said.

But none of those efforts seem likely to sway Tuberville into changing his mind. A spokesperson for the senator told Newsweek that he will keep his holds in place until the Pentagon rescinds its abortion policy or Democrats bring a bill on the matter to the Senate floor.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has also warned that the delay in promotions caused by Tuberville could result in a "brain drain" from the military.

"Military families do not know where they will live, where spouses will work, where children will go to school," she said on Monday.

On Wednesday night, Tuberville told the Senate floor, "It just makes me that much stronger to hear people complain about this, knowing that deep down somewhere there's a soft part in their heart for the four to five thousand unborn babies that will never breathe life on this earth. So, the more Joe Biden attacks me, the more I'm convinced that I'm doing the right thing."

He has also argued that his position remains popular back in his home state and that he's been widely supported by his constituents in Alabama.

Schumer has agreed to give Tuberville a standalone vote on the Pentagon's abortion policy in an attempt to convince him to stop the blockade, telling NBC News on Wednesday that if the Alabama Republican "wants to have an affirmative vote, we would not object to it."

"In terms of staying [through August], our first job is to pass NDAA and then we'll see what happens and go from there," Schumer said.

Update 07/20/23 2:55 pm ET This story was updated with comments from Tuberville.