The Senate has confirmed a new commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific after Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville dropped his objections and allowed a quick vote on the nomination.
Tuberville had blocked Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark’s nomination for months over concerns that the top military aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, along with other staff, did not immediately notify President Joe Biden when Austin was hospitalized with complications from cancer treatment earlier this year.
Clark, who Biden had nominated in July, was confirmed late Tuesday evening. Tuberville said Wednesday that he dropped his hold after meeting with Clark and talking to others in the Pentagon.
Tuberville had initially demanded to see a report from the Pentagon’s inspector general that will review the matter, but that report hasn’t yet been released and Congress is leaving Washington until after the November election.
“I didn’t want to leave him hanging, so I asked him to come over and we sat down and talked for about an hour,” Tuberville said. Clark’s explanation matched that of others he had spoken to, “so I trusted him and what he was telling me,” Tuberville said.
There was bipartisan frustration with Austin and his top aides earlier this year after it became clear that Biden was kept in the dark about the defense secretary not being in command for days during his January hospital visit. Lawmakers argued that could have meant confusion or delays in military action.
Austin was admitted to intensive care for complications from prostate cancer surgery Jan. 1, but the White House was not told until three days later. Austin’s senior staff were notified on Jan. 2.
Tuberville said he’s still concerned about the situation and how it unfolded, but after speaking with Clark, he believes he wasn’t one of the main people responsible for the lapse.
“We do have problems there, but it wasn’t his problem,” Tuberville said.
Austin said at the time that he took full responsibility and had apologized to Biden. He insisted that there were no gaps in control of the department or the nation’s security because “at all times, either I or the deputy secretary was in a position to conduct the duties of my office.”
An earlier Pentagon review of the matter blamed privacy restrictions and staff hesitancy for the secrecy, and called for improved procedures, which have been made.
A hold by any senator on a nomination, or on a piece of legislation, blocks a quick vote by unanimous consent. Democrats could have brought the nomination up for a vote, circumventing the hold, but it would have taken several days of floor time to do so. A vote would not have been scheduled until after the November election.
The objections over Clark came a year after Tuberville’s blockade of hundreds of military promotions over a Pentagon abortion policy. The Alabama senator held up the nominations for months but relented after he faced intense criticism from senators in both parties. The Senate finally approved 425 military promotions and nominations in November.
Republican colleagues said they agreed with Tuberville on the abortion policy but openly pressured him to drop the holds, voicing concern about military readiness and the toll it was taking on service members and their families who had nothing to do with the regulations.
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