WASHINGTON – Top Senate Democrats Charles Schumer and Dick Durbin on Wednesday turned up the heat on two Republican senators who have been blocking votes to confirm 319 military promotions and four U.S. attorneys, including April Perry, in line to be the next chief federal prosecutor in Chicago.
Schumer, of New York, and Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, sharply criticized Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has been holding up the officer promotions and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, who has been preventing a vote on Perry and three other U.S. attorney nominees. Vance, a freshman senator, is best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Six months ago, Tuberville placed a blanket hold on all general and flag officer promotions to protest the Pentagon policy of covering travel costs for military members and their dependents seeking out-of-state abortions. The policy was put in place after many states curtailed access to abortion.
Still, Schumer broke with the usual order of confirming military promotions in a group and allowed on Wednesday three separate votes to confirm the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Marine Corps commandant and the Army chief of staff. Schumer made the move after Tuberville signaled he would not object to a vote for the commandant.
Schumer said, “We cannot allow Senator Tuberville to decide which of our dedicated and brave service members get promoted.”
Durbin took aim at Vance. “We’ve heard a lot of tough talk about ‘law and order’ from a lot of Senators, but when it comes to ‘law and order,’ we shouldn’t allow one Senator to prevent us from confirming well-qualified law enforcement nominations today,” Durbin said.
Vance put a hold on the Justice Department nominees to protest the federal prosecution of former President Donald Trump and on Wednesday showed no sign of releasing his hold. If anything, it seemed he hardened his position.
Every senator has the power to put a hold on a single nominee or a blanket hold on multiple nominees.
Since the military and federal prosecutor positions are usually not controversial, the Senate, to save time, usually confirms them by a voice vote or unanimous consent.
On the Vance hold
Durbin, the majority leader and the Judiciary Committee chairman, took to the Senate floor to seek unanimous consent to confirm Perry to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Todd Gee, to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi; Tara K. McGrath, to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California; and Rebecca Lutzko, to be the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
Perry would be the first female U.S. Attorney in Chicago.
Vance is holding up the confirmation of a nominee from his own home state. Gee’s nomination was backed by the two Mississippi Senators, both Republican.
“To hold up their nominations without any specific complaint about any one of these nominees is just unacceptable,” Durbin said.
“We have a responsibility here to keep Americans safe. We can’t keep them safe by using a political reason to hold up the nominations of these well-qualified people. If you are truly for law and order, if you are truly for law enforcement, if you want the prosecutors across America to keep us safe, then for goodness’ sakes, lift the hold on these nominations.”
When Durbin asked for unanimous consent to consider the four nominations together, Vance objected, ending any chance, for now, of a vote.
Digging in, Vance said, “The senator from Illinois knows well I cannot and will not give consent to the confirmation of new officials at the Department of Justice. My objection is not specific to the qualifications or the particular individuals that have been nominated.
“My objection is instead to the fact that we live in an era where the Department of Justice is used for politics as much as justice and that’s unacceptable,” Vance said, a reference to Trump.
Vance continued, “I would love to live in a country where the Department of Justice does not engage in selective prosecution ... Until it does I will object to these nominations. I will object to giving unanimous consent.”
In reply Durbin said, “Despite the tough tough talk from the senator from Ohio, about crime in America, and all the references I have to put up regularly with the other party making references to crime in the city of Chicago, I can’t think of a better way to fight crime and protect communities than by confirming all of these qualified nominees and especially one for the Northern District of Illinois.”
