The Senate on Thursday approved the nomination of Adm. Lisa Franchetti to be the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy. The vote, which saw almost every participating Senator in favor of elevating Franchetti to that position, was held amid months of procedural delays forced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who has been complaining about assistance for potential abortions made available to military personnel by the Defense Department.
The military isn’t directly funding the abortions, instead providing travel support as needed for personnel who may have to trek to some other state to access the health care they need amid an expanding patchwork of GOP restrictions on abortion across various states.
Franchetti had already been serving in that role on an acting basis, meaning in a capacity more temporary in nature. The role, for which she’s now received official Senate backing, will also make her the first woman to serve in any position on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a military organization featuring various branch leaders. At each branch, the top officers are not the final and solitary voices commanding matters. Civilian leaders nominated by the president to roles like Secretary of the Army also serve.
Tuberville’s actions have taken the form specifically of objections to using unanimous consent to formally place these nominees in their pending military roles, forcing a longer process in the Senate for potentially dealing with each nomination — which it’s not always been clear has been feasible, just on a scheduling basis. He has faced opposition from Democrats and Republicans, and there have been reports suggesting temporary alterations to procedure in the Senate could be imminent in a scenario that would allow more efficient consideration of the stalled nominees for the military. The Senate, meanwhile, also already held individual votes on the presidential picks for military roles including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, putting in a replacement for Mark Milley.
