Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, pictured here speaking to reporters in the U.S. Capitol on July 10, has blocked hundreds of military nominations, causing logistical hurdles across the service.
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The U.S. Marine Corps is operating without a Senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in over 150 years because one Republican, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, continues to block military officer nominations.
The position of Marine Corps commandant, the branch’s highest-ranking officer, was vacated on Monday as Gen. David Berger retired after 42 years in the service.
Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith, the current assistant commandant, was nominated to replace him, but is facing a Senate confirmation delay thanks to a procedural move from the Alabama senator.
Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has refused to confirm officer positions since the start of this year, citing his disapproval of the Pentagon’s 2022 decision to support service members and their families in traveling out of state to receive an abortion.
Smith will remain in his title as assistant but will effectively take over the commandant’s duties, performing both roles until he can be confirmed by the Senate, Defense Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday.
She added that Smith’s confirmation is one of roughly 265 officer nominations that’ve been delayed by the Alabama senator.
The Pentagon says the delays are leaving a “huge impact”
The delayed confirmation marks the first time the Marine Corps has been without a Senate-confirmed commandant since the death of then-Commandant Archibald…
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