Washington — Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville announced Tuesday he will drop his monthslong hold on military nominations except for four-star general and flag officers. Since Tuberville began his hold in February, the backlog of nominations in the Senate has grown to affect over 450 officers. 

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

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the Pentagon was “encouraged by the news” but he urged the Senate to move on all of the nominations, including at least 11 four-star officers. Ryder noted that some of the key four-star nominees include the heads of U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Air forces, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command.

His hold was a way to protest a Pentagon policy on abortion that reimburses travel expenses for service members who have to travel to seek an abortion or other types of reproductive health care. For months, Tuberville said he would drop his hold when the Pentagon changed its policy. 

He said Senate leadership will bring the four-star nominations to the floor one by one. 

His hold was a way to protest a Pentagon policy on abortion that reimburses travel expenses for service members who have to travel to seek an abortion or other types of reproductive health care. For months, Tuberville said he would drop his hold only when the Pentagon changed its policy. 

But on Tuesday, he backed down, saying, “It’s been a long fight. We fought hard.” 

Usually, military nominations are confirmed in large blocks through a process called unanimous consent, but a single senator can block this process. 

In recent months, Tuberville has faced pressure from even his Republican colleagues. In November, a group of GOP senators took to the floor to tell Tuberville that though they agree with his objection to this Pentagon policy, they disagree that a hold is the way to solve it. 

After the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 led some states to enact abortion bans, the Pentagon announced it would reimburse travel expenses for service members who need to travel to seek an abortion or other types of reproductive health care. 

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made the point that service members don’t get to decide where they’re stationed, and many bases in the U.S. are in the states, like Alabama, that have increasingly restricted access to abortion. 

The policy does not pay for abortions. The Hyde Amendment prevents the Defense Department facilities from performing abortions except for in the case of rape, incest or the health of the mother. 

He noted the Pentagon has to consider when these officers can move and where the people that are moving out of the positions are going, all of which “has to be carefully orchestrated and done in a way that enables us to continue to conduct the operations, without having significant impact, not only on the mission, but also on the individual family members.”