Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is holding up an estimated 250 military nominees in protest of new Department of Defense policies that improve access to abortion in states where it's no longer available.
The Pentagon policies followed the U.S. Supreme Court's elimination of a constitutional right to abortion, a decision that created a patchwork of abortion laws across the country.
Tuberville opposes the Pentagon stance and, according to the Washington Examiner, has "single-handedly" held up Department of Defense promotions for all civilian, "flag," and general officer nominations, as well as high-level promotions within the Pentagon.
Alabama, home to six military installations, has laws on the books banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
The protest by Tuberville, a former college football coach, is in its fourth month. He said he believes the DOD policy is a violation of federal law that limits federal funding of abortions to cases of rape, incest, or threats to the life of the mother, the news outlet reported.
Tuberville said he objects to forcing taxpayers to "fund abortions," said the Pentagon policy is an effort to bypass Congress and do its own legislating.
"It's an illegal policy," Tuberville told the Washington Examiner about the Pentagon stance. "They changed it, they can't do it, so let's go back to the original policy. If they want to change it, let's change it here in Congress, like we are supposed to."
According to the Washington Examiner, the backlog of Pentagon nominees could grow to as many as 650 by the end of the year.
But Tuberville's block isn't final, the news outlet noted. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., can still put them up for a vote, though he would be forced to do so one-by-one, and not in batches.
Schumer has refused to take that step so far, creating a standoff with no end in sight.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has been urging Senate Republicans to find a way to break the logjam.
"We certainly urge and encourage other members of the Senate on the Republican side to put enough pressure on Senator Tuberville to get him to lift his hold," Kirby told CNN last week. "I'm grateful for the work other Republican senators have done to try to find a way through this."
According to the Washington Examiner, Tuberville said that since his hold has been in place, he hasn't had any conversations with Schumer, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chair of the Armed Services Committee, or the White House.
Tuberville also said last week Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., hasn't talked about the issue with him.
The Washington Examiner reported, however, some of Tuberville's colleagues have tried to talk with him about alternatives, which could mean GOP leaders are fed up with the stalemate.
"Schumer is not going to bring it to the floor. So, I'm not going to drop holds, knowing it's not even going to make it out of this committee," Tuberville told the Examiner.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told the Examiner that he's working on the issue with Tuberville.
"I'm talking to a number of colleagues to figure out how to make the point that Senator Tuberville wants to make, which I agree with, but find a way to allow Congress to decide the issue rather than just the Department of Defense," Cornyn said Thursday.
"I think Senator Schumer has the ability to move these nominations. He just needs to file for cloture, and he could do maybe 10 a week if he decided that this was a priority, but he likes politics."
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