Three top military leaders confirmed after Senate deal

Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday at 2:45pm to note the confirmation of Gen. Randy George as Army chief of staff, and Gen. Eric Smith , as commandant of the Marine Corps, and on Sept. 20 at 7:20pm EDT to note Gen. Charles Q. Brown as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. It was corrected at 5:45pm EDT Wednesday to note that Brown would be the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not the first, which was Gen. Colin Powell .

Senate leaders filled three vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff — including the chairman post — after a surprise breakthrough in the ongoing chamber confirmation fight that has snarled hundreds of military promotions for months .

Gen. Charles Q. Brown was confirmed as the new Joint Chiefs chairman by an 83-11 vote Wednesday night. Gen. Randy George , the nominee for Army chief of staff, and Gen. Eric Smith , the nominee for commandant of the Marine Corps, were confirmed on Thursday.

The news came as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., prepared to force a chamber vote on Marine Corps nominee Smith, whose nomination has been held up since June by Tuberville as part of a blanket hold he has put on senior military promotions. Tuberville has been pushing for votes on individual nominees, but Democratic leaders had balked at his demand.

Schumer on Wednesday angrily blasted Tuberville’s moves as partisan games but acknowledged that some confirmations needed to move ahead as soon as possible to keep the ongoing political fight from turning into a national security threat.

“Due to the extraordinary circumstances of Sen. Tuberville’s reckless decisions, Democrats will take action,” he said. “It’s not the path a vast majority of senators on either side of the aisle want to go down, but Sen. Tuberville is forcing us to face his obstruction head-on.”

Schumer indicated he would oppose similar individual or small-group votes of defense nominees in the future. Ahead of Wednesday’s votes, Tuberville said he was pleased with the outcome.

“I’m OK with it,” Tuberville said. “I’ve been saying that for months. Today we called them out on that, and they blinked.”

Tuberville’s objections center on changes announced last fall to the Defense Department’s abortion access policy, which allows travel stipends and leave time to service members forced to travel across state lines to access abortion services.

The White House and congressional Democrats have called the move critical health care for service members. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has argued the policy allows the military “to recruit, retain, and maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force.”

But Republicans have largely decried it as an illegal work-around of state and federal laws. House GOP lawmakers have included plans to roll back the military abortion policy in a series of pending defense budget bills.

Tuberville’s holds have snarled the typically non-controversial military promotions process. Wednesday’s deal filled in three key leadership positions but still leaves the fate of nearly 300 others in doubt.

The new Joint Chiefs

Currently, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps are without confirmed service chiefs because of Tuberville’s holds. In each case, the second-in-command leaders for the services are taking on the role of acting leader.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, is set to retire at the end of the month. Brown is President Joe Biden’s choice to replace Milley as the top uniformed officer in the military, and is the second Black officer to hold the post.

The prospect of leaving the most senior uniformed military post open for any stretch of time has caused significant concern within the Pentagon and White House, as well as around Capitol Hill.

The Marine Corps was the first military service to face a senior leadership vacancy, following the legally required departure of Gen. David Berger in July.

Smith, officially the assistant Marine commandant until Thursday, took on Berger’s responsibilities upon his predecessor’s retirement. In his acting role, he could not issue the commandant’s long-term planning guidance, and he doesn’t have a deputy to help him juggle the work of leading the Marine Corps and serving on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Smith has refrained from criticizing Tuberville directly, in keeping with the norm that uniformed military leaders stay out of political fights. But he warned at his confirmation hearing in June that the hold on nominations could hamper military readiness. And he said in September that he fears his “not sustainable” lack of sleep will make it hard for him to make good decisions, Marine Corps Times reported Monday.

In August, the Army became the second military service to have no Senate-confirmed leader at the top. Gen. Randy George, the Army’s vice chief of staff, also served as the Army’s acting leader, performing a double duty akin to Smith’s.

Brown previously served as Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and his promotion leaves that post vacant now.

Nominees still waiting

Among the remaining pending nominees are Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Biden’s pick to serve as the top Navy officer, and Gen. David Allvin, nominated to be the top Air Force leader. Those two had confirmation hearings last week and are expected to have their files forwarded to the full Senate in the next few weeks, where they will then face Tuberville’s opposition.

Even with Smith now taking over the most senior Marine Corps post, he still lacks a top deputy, because Tuberville’s remaining holds include Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney’s nomination to be assistant commandant.

The same is true of George, who won’t get the assistance of Army Lt. Gen. James Mingus, the vice chief nominee, unless the Senate confirms him sometime in the near future.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the moves by the Senate were “good for the United States Marines, certainly good for the United States Army and good for the Joint Staff, but it ain’t good enough for US national security. These holds need to be lifted, all of them.”

On Tuesday, officials from VoteVets – which has ties to the Democratic party – set up posters with the names and faces of all the blocked nominees on the grounds outside the Capitol. Tuberville said he was aware of the display but unmoved by it.

Earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blasted Tuberville for his continued obstinance and criticized his Republican colleagues for not doing more to end the blockade.

“The motto of the United States Marines Corps is not ‘help out the top brass and leave everyone else behind,’” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Sen. Tuberville evidently does not understand that.”

Tuberville said he has no plans to change his stance on nominees now to speed up filling the remaining vacancies.

“They finally figured out I won’t want to give in, and I’m still not,” he told reporters. “Let’s do these votes one at a time and or change the (abortion) policy back.”

But Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he was confident that Wednesday’s breakthrough will produce more confirmation agreements in coming days.

“We’re going to keep on the pressure, and I think you’re going to see more on this next week,” he said.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

Irene Loewenson is a staff reporter for Marine Corps Times. She joined Military Times as an editorial fellow in August 2022. She is a graduate of Williams College, where she was the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.

编者按：本文于周四下午2:45更新，确认兰迪·乔治将军出任陆军参谋长，埃里克·史密斯将军出任海军陆战队司令；并于9月20日美国东部时间晚上7:20更新，确认查尔斯·Q·布朗将军出任参谋长联席会议主席。周三美国东部时间下午5:45更正，指出布朗将军将是第二位担任参谋长联席会议主席的非裔美国人，而非第一位，第一位是科林·鲍威尔将军。

在持续数月的参议院确认斗争中取得意外突破后，参议院领导人填补了参谋长联席会议的三个空缺职位——包括主席职位。这场斗争已经导致数百名军人晋升陷入僵局数月之久。

查尔斯·Q·布朗将军周三晚以83票赞成、11票反对的投票结果被确认为新任参谋长联席会议主席。陆军参谋长提名人兰迪·乔治将军和海军陆战队司令提名人埃里克·史密斯将军于周四获得确认。

就在阿拉巴马州共和党参议员汤米·图伯维尔准备强制参议院就海军陆战队提名人史密斯进行投票之际，传来了这一消息。自6月以来，图伯维尔一直阻挠史密斯的提名，这是他全面搁置高级军官晋升政策的一部分。图伯维尔一直力主对个别提名人进行投票，但民主党领导人拒绝了他的要求。

舒默周三愤怒地抨击图伯维尔的举动是党派游戏，但他承认，一些确认程序需要尽快推进，以防止正在进行的政治斗争演变成国家安全威胁。

“鉴于图伯维尔参议员鲁莽的决定，情况非常特殊，民主党人将采取行动，”他说。“这并非两党绝大多数参议员都愿意采取的行动，但图伯维尔参议员正迫使我们正面应对他的阻挠。”

舒默表示，他未来将反对类似的以个人或小团体形式对国防部长提名人进行投票。在周三投票前，图伯维尔表示他对投票结果感到满意。

“我对此并不介意，”塔伯维尔说。“几个月来我一直这么说。今天我们当面指出了这一点，他们终于妥协了。”

塔伯维尔的反对意见主要集中在去年秋天宣布的国防部堕胎政策的变更上，该政策允许向被迫跨州前往堕胎服务的军人发放差旅津贴和休假时间。

白宫和国会民主党人称此举对军人医疗保健至关重要。国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀则辩称，这项政策使军队能够“招募、留住并保持一支高素质部队的战备状态”。

但共和党人普遍谴责此举是规避州和联邦法律的非法手段。众议院共和党议员已在一系列待审议的国防预算案中纳入了撤销军方堕胎政策的计划。

图伯维尔的阻挠使原本平静的军方晋升程序陷入僵局。周三达成的协议填补了三个关键领导职位，但仍有近300人的命运悬而未决。

新任参谋长联席会议

目前，由于图伯维尔的阻挠，陆军、海军和海军陆战队均没有正式的参谋长。在每种情况下，各军种的二号人物都暂时代理参谋长职务。

参谋长联席会议主席、陆军上将马克·米利将于本月底退休。布朗是乔·拜登总统提名的接替米利担任美军最高军官的人选，也是第二位担任此职的黑人军官。

最高级别军官职位空缺的前景，无论持续多久，都引起了五角大楼、白宫以及国会山的极大担忧。

在戴维·伯杰将军于 7 月依法离任后，海军陆战队成为第一个面临高级领导职位空缺的军种。

史密斯此前正式担任海军陆战队助理司令，直到周四才正式卸任。在他前任伯杰退休后，他接替了伯杰的职责。作为代理司令，他无法发布司令的长期规划指导，也没有副手协助他兼顾领导海军陆战队和参谋长联席会议的工作。

史密斯一直避免直接批评图伯维尔，这符合军方领导人不卷入政治斗争的惯例。但他在6月份的确认听证会上警告说，暂停提名可能会影响军队的战备状态。据《海军陆战队时报》周一报道，他还在9月份表示，他担心自己“无法长期忍受”的睡眠不足会让他难以做出正确的决定。

8月，陆军成为第二个没有参议院确认的最高领导人的军种。陆军副参谋长兰迪·乔治将军同时担任陆军代理领导人，身兼两职，与史密斯的情况类似。

布朗此前曾担任空军参谋长，他的晋升使得该职位空缺。

提名者仍在等待

其余待定的提名人选包括拜登提名的海军上将丽莎·弗兰切蒂（Lisa Franchetti），她将担任海军最高指挥官；以及被提名为空军最高指挥官的戴维·奥尔文（David Allvin）将军。这两位上周已举行确认听证会，预计他们的文件将在未来几周内提交参议院全体会议，届时他们将面临塔伯维尔的反对。

即使史密斯现在接管了海军陆战队最高职位，他仍然缺少一位高级副手，因为图伯维尔剩下的任务包括提名克里斯托弗·马奥尼中将担任助理司令。

乔治的情况也是如此，除非参议院在不久的将来确认副总参谋长提名人选詹姆斯·明格斯中将，否则他将无法获得明格斯中将的帮助。

在周三投票前，国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比表示，参议院的这些举措“对美国海军陆战队有利，对美国陆军和参谋部联席会议也有利，但对美国国家安全而言还不够。所有这些限制都需要解除。”

周二，与民主党关系密切的“退伍军人投票组织”（VoteVets）的官员在国会大厦外的空地上张贴了所有被阻止提名的候选人的姓名和照片。图伯维尔表示他注意到了这些海报，但并未因此动容。

当天早些时候，参议院民主党人猛烈抨击图伯维尔的顽固不化，并批评他的共和党同僚没有采取更多措施来结束封锁。

“美国海军陆战队的座右铭不是‘帮助高层，抛弃其他人’，”马萨诸塞州民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦说。“图伯维尔参议员显然不明白这一点。”

图伯维尔表示，他目前没有计划改变对提名人的立场，以加快填补剩余空缺。

“他们最终意识到我不会让步，而我依然不会让步，”他告诉记者。“让我们逐一进行投票，或者干脆把（堕胎）政策改回去。”

但弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩表示，他相信周三的突破将在未来几天内促成更多确认协议。

“我们会继续施压，我想下周你们会看到更多相关消息，”他说。

利奥为《军事时报》报道国会、退伍军人事务部和白宫的新闻。自2004年以来，他一直报道华盛顿特区的新闻，重点关注军人和退伍军人政策。他的作品荣获多项荣誉，包括2009年波尔克奖、2010年国家头条新闻奖、国际退伍军人协会新闻领导力奖和美国退伍军人协会新闻媒体奖。

艾琳·洛文森是《海军陆战队时报》的专职记者。她于2022年8月加入《军事时报》，担任编辑助理。她毕业于威廉姆斯学院，曾担任该校学生报纸的总编辑。