Senators prep proposal to go around Tuberville's holds

Senators are exploring a proposal that could unstick Tommy Tuberville’s military blockade — if it can pass the Senate.

Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and others are working on a resolution that would allow military promotions to move en bloc, according to a person familiar with the matter. It could be introduced sometime this month, though the timing remains fluid as senators in both parties try to find some way around Tuberville’s move to slow down military promotions in a protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policies.

The proposed resolution would need 60 votes to win approval of the Senate and first must work its way through the Rules Committee. It is not a rules change and would not require the “nuclear option” of unilaterally altering Senate rules, which Sinema and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) oppose.

“There’s a bipartisan recognition that we have to get it done, and there are several ways,” Reed (D-R.I.) said of the confirmations for military officials.