Democrats Pursue Procedural Tactic to Bypass Tuberville's Hold on Military Promotions Due to Abortion Policy Protest

Democrats and bipartisan group led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema plan to use a standing order resolution, which needs 60 votes for approval, to move over 300 military promotions stalled by Sen. Tuberville's protest against DOD's abortion policies.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has held up over 360 military promotions to protest the Department of Defense’s (DOD) abortion policies that reimburse travel expenses of service members who obtain abortions. Tuberville has insisted that the only power minority has is to hold something in order to get attention.
In response, Democrats led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and bipartisan group plan to use a standing order resolution, a rarely used procedural tactic, to move over 300 military promotions stalled by Tuberville’s protest. The solution would need at least 60 votes to overcome an expected filibuster, which necessitates strong bipartisan support.
If the resolution is passed, this would enable the Senate to move procedural promotions through to the end of 2024 without any permanent rules change. However, the move is receiving pushback from conservatives within the GOP conference.
Many Republicans have expressed reluctance towards the procedural tactic to unblock the promotion nominations, showing more inclination towards resolving the impasse in another way. They've noted concern over establishing any new precedent that could potentially weaken the individual authority of senators.
Despite the holds, stalled military promotions cannot be completely stopped. They can still be confirmed by scheduling individual votes, a process that would take months of nonstop floor time and consume the Senate floor, stifling any other actions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has dismissed this course and seeks to avoid setting a bad precedent.