Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Filing Cloture To Advance Critical Military Nominations And On Sen. Tuberville’s Untenable Blanket Hold On National Security Nominations

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on filing cloture on critical military nominations. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last night, I filed cloture on President Biden’s nominees to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and Chief of Staff to the Air Force, the remaining vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which we said we’d fill. We will move on these critical military appointments soon here on the floor.

I also filed on the nomination of Lt. General Mahoney to be second-in-command at the U.S. Marine Corps. His appointment has become urgent because this weekend, the Commandant of the Marines, General Eric Smith, was unexpectedly hospitalized after a serious medical emergency.

Now, normally Lt. General Mahoney would have been able to immediately step in to temporarily serve as Commandant, but unfortunately because of the blanket holds of just one Senator – Senator Tuberville – that cannot happen.

The situation at the Marine Corps is precisely the kind of avoidable emergency that Senator Tuberville has provoked through his reckless holds.

Lt. General Mahoney is one of the more than three hundred nominees that Senator Tuberville is currently blocking.  

So, while the Senate will proceed quickly to vote on Lt. General Mahoney’s nomination, these holds cannot and must not continue.

Yesterday, my colleague Senator Reed, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, introduced a resolution that will allow the Senate to quickly confirm the nominations that are currently being blocked by the Senator from Alabama.

The resolution will be referred to the Rules Committee, and when the time comes, I will bring it to the floor of the Senate for consideration.

We must – we absolutely must – ensure that our military is fully staffed and fully equipped to defend the American people, and it begins by confirming these vital nominations that are currently on hold.

Every day that Senator Tuberville continues his blanket holds, our military preparedness is degraded. Our military families – most of whom who have served decades in the armed forces – suffer. Our military appointments risk being further ensnared in partisan politics.

These nominees must be confirmed, and both parties should work together to make sure we fulfill our obligation to America’s service members.

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