Tommy Tuberville drops hold on hundreds of military confirmations

US Senator Tommy Tuberville says he will drop his hold on hundreds of military promotions, a move which had infuriated his Republican colleagues.

The Alabama senator has refused to confirm over 400 officers since February as part of a protest over the Pentagon's abortion access policy.

He released the hold after months of pressure from fellow Republicans, who said he had damaged national security.

But he insisted he would maintain the hold for the most senior promotions.

For nearly a year, Mr Tuberville - who had no previous political experience before being elected in 2020 - stalled military promotions to protest a Pentagon policy created after the reversal of Roe v Wade.

It allowed service members time off and travel reimbursement for seeking abortions or other reproductive health care treatments. The policy does not pay for an abortion, but rather reimburses members who had to travel to a state where abortion is not restricted.

During the 10 month campaign, over half of the military's general and admiral positions were impacted. At one point the Pentagon was forced to appoint acting heads of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.

Mr Tuberville originally said he would only drop his hold if the Pentagon changed its policy, but there had been increasing pressure from both sides of the aisle to confirm officers. Typically, military confirmations are confirmed through unanimous consent to expedite the process.

"I'm not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer," Mr Tuberville told reporters on Tuesday. "We just released them - about 440 of them. Everybody but 10 or 11 four-stars."

His fellow Republicans had become increasingly irate with Mr Tuberville's actions in recent weeks. But on Tuesday he sought to defend his campaign.

"It's been a long fight," Mr Tuberville said on Tuesday. "We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military, fighting back against executive overreach."

Defence officials had also urged Mr Tuberville to drop his hold on senior military promotions.

Brig Gen Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said: "As evidenced by everything that's going on in the world right now, we have a very important mission in terms of defending this nation, and anytime you add a level of uncertainty into the chain of command, it creates an unnecessary friction."

White House spokesman John Kirby welcomed the move, saying it will allow "several hundreds officers" to return to critical missions.

But he added that four-star generals and admirals must be urgently confirmed, saying, "they're leading at the very top leadership level".

"They're responsible for some very very strategic issues around the world."

The Democrats' Senate leader, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, said he planned to "move these promotions as soon as possible, possibly later this afternoon". Sen Tuberville's fellow conservatives also breathed a sigh of relief. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham said he was "glad this has come to the end". "I agree with his concerns about the Pentagon policy of using taxpayer dollars to fund travel for abortions, but I think the blanket hold approach is really punishing people who had nothing to do with that," he told CNN. In November, his fellow Republicans took to the Senate floor in a five-hour confrontation over the hold, saying they agreed with his objection to the Pentagon policy, but said Mr Tuberville's actions would not resolve it.