The head of the US Marine Corps stepped down Monday, leaving the famed service without a confirmed long-term leader as America's bitter political feud over abortion hampers the approval of scores of military nominees.
It is the most senior position affected so far by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville's move to stall Defense Department nominations, which he says he will continue to do until the Pentagon reverses course on assisting troops who travel to receive abortions.
Tuberville insists that policy is illegal, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said it is legally sound and that delaying the approval of the nominees "harms America's national security and hinders the Pentagon's normal operations."
Though the Senate -- which must sign off on nominations of military officers -- can still vote on them individually, Tuberville's "hold" means they cannot be quickly approved in groups by unanimous consent, and his office says that more than 200 nominees are affected.
Speaking at a ceremony marking General David Berger's departure, Austin said it has been "more than a century since the US Marine Corps has operated without a Senate-confirmed commandant."
"Smooth and timely transitions of confirmed leadership are central to the defense of the United States, and to the full strength of the most powerful fighting force in history," he said.
Berger called on the upper house of Congress to take action, saying: "We need the Senate to do their job so that we can have a sitting commandant" who is "appointed and confirmed."
General Eric Smith -- the current assistant commandant, whom the White House has nominated to replace Berger -- will serve in an acting capacity until a new commandant is confirmed.
- Nationwide abortion battle -
Colin Smith, a senior researcher at RAND, said Smith "will essentially have to do double duty," performing both his current job as well as serving as acting commandant.
The US Supreme Court in June 2022 struck down the nationwide right to abortion, meaning troops stationed in places that subsequently banned the procedure must now take leave and travel to areas where it is legal to obtain one.
In response, Austin directed the Defense Department to develop policies -- which were released in February -- to allow service members to take administrative absences to receive "non-covered reproductive health care," and to establish travel allowances to help them cover costs.
Tuberville, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tweeted in February that because Austin is "following through with his radical plan to facilitate thousands of abortions a year with taxpayer dollars," Tuberville would "hold all DoD civilian & general/flag officer nominees that come before the US Senate."
He has said the hold "has no effect on readiness," and that he will keep it in place "until the Pentagon follows the law (or) Congress changes the law."
Other top officers are also due to leave office in the coming months, including Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
"The tenure of service chiefs is limited by law, and thus, incumbents must vacate their positions at the appointed time," Austin wrote in a May letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren.
"Without these leaders in place, the US military will incur an unnecessary and unprecedented degree of risk at a moment when our adversaries may seek to test our resolve."
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