Should the US end daylight saving time? Musk and Ramaswamy say yes
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have reignited the debate over America’s biannual clock changes, calling for an end to the practice. The suggestion, shared on Musk’s social media platform X, is tied to their leadership of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President-elect Donald Trump.
Most states currently alternate between daylight saving time, which shifts clocks forward an hour to extend evening sunlight, and standard time, which aligns more closely with natural daylight patterns.
Advocates for permanent daylight saving time argue that more evening sunlight boosts economic activity and reduces crime rates.
Supporters of permanent standard time highlight its alignment with circadian rhythms, which research links to improved health outcomes, including a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes.
So of course I'm a dork and have spent the past 8 hours on this and eliminating summer DST is terrible, would reduce the amount of daylight people get by a lot (~40 minutes/day at the Summer Solstice) given empirical data on sleeping patterns as per the American Time Use Survey. https://t.co/Ci9JiKUu7mpic.twitter.com/yIf7Ecz5j5
Geography also shapes perspectives. Coastal states often favor daylight saving time for extended evening sunlight, while central states express concerns about dark winter mornings impacting school safety and morning commutes.
Hawaii and most of Arizona already operate on permanent standard time.
The Musk-Ramaswamy proposal has drawn attention from lawmakers, including Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is set to serve as secretary of state in the Trump administration.
The discussion aligns with a broader trend, as other nations, including Mexico, have recently abolished daylight saving time. The proposal to “lock the clock” in the United States remains under consideration as Congress and the public weigh the potential benefits and challenges.
Sen. Tuberville holding up another senior military nominee for a new reason
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is holding up the promotion of a top military general. That may sound familiar, but unlike his blanket hold on all senior military officials in 2023, this is a single officer for a specific reason.
Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark is a senior aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and is up for a promotion to be the head of Army Forces in the Pacific. Tuberville, however, will not allow his promotion to go through until the inspector general releases a report on Secretary Austin’s January hospitalization.
Only Austin’s inner circle knew he was sick and in the hospital. The president was not initially informed, and Tuberville said Clark should have called the president to let him know.
“I’m waiting for the [inspector general] review [about] him screwing up and not telling the president of the United States that his boss and head of the Department of Defense was in the hospital,” Tuberville told Punchbowl News. “You don’t need to get a promotion when everybody’s wondering, ‘What the heck’s going on here?’”
There is one way to get around Tuberville’s hold: a full vote on the Senate floor. But that is a time consuming process. With only 10 working days left until the Senate leaves for the entire month of October, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to instead approve judicial nominations and a government spending deal.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., told Punchbowl that he would be willing to push for a floor vote.
“We’ve got to get the confirmation done. Hopefully the information [Tuberville] wants will be provided,” Reed said.
In 2023, Tuberville put a 10-month hold on all military promotions to protest a Biden administration policy that provides paid time off and travel expense reimbursement for military members who get an abortion. After receiving heavy criticism from members of his own party, he relented and got nothing in return.
What Senate rules say about dismissing Mayorkas impeachment
The impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to begin on Tuesday, April 16, two months after he was impeached. The question is, will there be a full trial with a presentation of evidence? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not tipped his hand as to what he’ll do. Schumer has only said he wants it done quickly.
“We want to address this issue as expeditiously as possible,” Schumer said during a speech April 10. “And as I said yesterday, impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. That sets an awful precedent.”
According to multiple Senate sources, Schumer is likely to make a motion to table the articles and trial. That would bring it to a swift end and prevent the House impeachment managers from presenting their case.
However, most of the Senate Republican conference disagrees with the move and wrote a letter to Schumer calling for a full trial.
“In every previous congressional impeachment of the past 227 years, Congress has been faithful to the process set out by the framers,” 43 Republicans said in the letter. “Never before has the Senate abandoned this duty, even when certain members believed the basis for impeachment was tenuous at best.”
“He does not want to allow the House managers to present the evidence of Alejandro Mayorkas and this administration’s willful decision to aid and abet this criminal invasion of this country,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said.
There are step-by-step instructions on how to run a Senate impeachment trial in the Constitution and a list of rules that were first written in 1868. Trials begins at precisely 1 p.m. the day after the articles are delivered and each senator is required to take a special oath.
There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance.
For example, the Senate Sergeant at Arms will begin by stating: ‘‘All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment, while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas.”
The rules also lay out how evidence shall be presented and provide rights for the accused.
It also states, in part, that the Senate should “proceed to the consideration of such articles and shall continue in session from day to day after the trial shall commence — unless otherwise ordered by the Senate — until final judgment shall be rendered.”
The phrase, “unless otherwise ordered by the Senate,” is what would allow for the articles to be tabled with a simple majority vote. Every Democrat is expected to support a motion to table; some Republicans could join them.
Republican Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, Tommy Tuberville, and Rand Paul declined to sign on to the letter to Schumer calling for a full trial.
Tuberville has previously called the impeachment a “waste of time.”
Senate confirms remaining military promotions blocked by Sen. Tuberville
Working up to the holiday break, the Senate confirmed a dozen top military nominees on Tuesday, Dec. 19, putting an end to Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s 11-month-long hold on military promotions. Tuberville’s blockade started over his protest of the Pentagon’s policy of reimbursing travel costs for military members seeking abortions.
Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of servicemembers and military families and threatened our national security — all to push a partisan agenda. I hope no one forgets what he did
President Biden
As time went by and stalled promotions began to pile up, Tuberville faced bipartisan criticism that his tactic affected military readiness and posed a threat to national security. Tuberville dropped his hold for most promotions earlier this month, on Dec. 5, except for four star officers. Shortly after the hold was lifted, Senate confirmed 425 military nominees.
According to the Department of Defense, by November Tubervill’s hold blocked 451 military members, including top military leaders. The blockade officially ended last night when Tuberville agreed to drop his objections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was then able to get a voice vote to pass eleven nominees who had been waiting on four-star promotions.
“These 11 flag officers have now been approved, joining the rest of their colleagues who we approved a few weeks ago,” Schumer said. “That’s good news.”
Tuberville’s efforts have been widely criticized and did not lead the Pentagon to change its abortion policy, President Biden calling the hold “pointless.”
“Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of servicemembers and military families and threatened our national security — all to push a partisan agenda. I hope no one forgets what he did,” Biden said in a statement.
Colorado Supreme Court bars Trump from 2024 ballot: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 20, 2023
Citing the 14th Amendment, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled former President Donald Trump is ineligible to run again. And Rite Aid is accused of recklessly using AI technology on its customers. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from 2024 ballot
Colorado’s Supreme Court is the first in the nation to find the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” applies to the former president after similar lawsuits in other states have been dismissed. The clause bars anyone who took an oath to uphold the Constitution from office and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion.
The state’s high court, consisting of all Democratic appointees, reversed a decision by a district judge last month that found while Trump incited an insurrection, Section 3 did not apply to the presidency. In its ruling, Colorado’s Supreme Court said it did not take its conclusions lightly but found Section 3 did apply to the former president.
Trump is facing federal charges concerning Jan. 6. One of the three dissenting judges said without an insurrection-related conviction, the court was depriving Trump of due process. A spokesman for the Trump campaign called the ruling a “flawed decision” and said they have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in their favor.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision won’t take effect until at least Jan. 4, giving the U.S. Supreme Court time to review the case.
Lawsuit filed over Texas’ newly signed immigration law
The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities.
Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas
The law, which is set to go into effect in March, also gives judges the power to order deportations. It comes as record numbers of migrants have made it to the U.S.-Mexico border and a surge in illegal border crossings.
“Governor Abbott’s efforts to circumvent the federal immigration system and deny people the right to due process is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerously prone to error, and will disproportionately harm black and brown people regardless of their immigration status,” said Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
Adriana Piñon, the Legal Director of ACLU of Texas, added that the law wastes billions of tax payer dollars.
“The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities,” Piñon said. “Time and time again, elected officials in Texas have ignored their constituents and opted for white supremacist rhetoric and mass incarceration instead.”
Republican state representatives who back the law say Texas and other border states have the “absolute right” to enforce their borders.
Senate confirms top military nominees, ends Tuberville’s hold
As time went by and stalled promotions began to pile up, Tuberville faced bipartisan criticism that his tactic affected military readiness and threatened national security. Tuberville dropped his hold for most promotions earlier this month, except for four-star officers.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 19, the FTC said the retailer failed to implement “reasonable procedures and prevent harm to consumers” using facial recognition in hundreds of its stores. The agency said Rite Aid’s “reckless use” of AI left customers “facing humiliation.”
In its complaint, the FTC said between 2012 and 2020, Rite Aid used AI to capture images of all its customers at select stores and created a database of “persons of interest” suspected of past wrongdoings like shoplifting. The system would send match alerts to Rite Aid workers, who were then instructed to tell the customers to leave the store. The FTC said this led to numerous false positives.
The FTC said Rite Aid did not inform its customers of the technology being used in its stores and instructed employees not to reveal anything to consumers or the media. In a statement, Rite Aid said it had stopped using the technology in a small group of stores more than three years ago.
Nearly 36 million Comcast customers affected by security breach
Comcast has announced that a security breach compromised nearly 36 million of its Xfinity customers’ accounts. According to the cable giant, hackers were able to gain access to its systems through a vulnerability in software provided by the cloud computing company Citrix.
The unauthorized access occurred between Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, more than two weeks after Citrix disclosed its software issue. Customer data “likely acquired” includes usernames, contact details, and the last four digits of social security numbers.
Comcast said in a letter to customers that it notified authorities when it discovered the breach, adding that the software issue has been resolved. However, Xfinity users are being required to reset their passwords.
Blue Origin rocket has successful launch after 2022 crash
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is once again reaching for the stars, as his Blue Origin rocket took another trip out of this world. The New Shepard rocket lifted off from Blue Origin’s Texas facility more than a year after engine troubles led the rocket to crash during a failed launch.
This time, the rocket successfully catapulted a capsule containing 33 science experiments from NASA and other groups into space for a few minutes of weightlessness. Both the capsule and the rocket then landed safely back to Earth.
Although no one was on board the tourism rocket this time, Blue Origin is looking forward to returning to passenger flights soon following this successful mission.
Senate approves hundreds of military promotions as Tuberville drops hold
Hundreds of military promotions pushed through the Senate on Tuesday, Dec. 5, after Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., dropped his months-long blockade. The Senate wasted little time, approving 425 promotions by voice vote just hours after the blockade was lifted.
Sen. Tuberville had been blocking the votes in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, which allows military members time and reimbursement for travel out of state to seek an abortion. The policy does not pay for abortions.
Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of servicemembers and military families and threatened our national security – all to push a partisan agenda.
President Biden
The block delayed promotions for hundreds of military personnel, creating a backlog.
Tuberville faced increased pressure to drop his hold from senators on both sides of the aisle, citing the threat to military readiness and national security as some officials were forced to take on multiple roles with promotions stalled.
Lindsey Graham was one of several Senate Republicans to confront Tommy Tuberville on the chamber floor last night for holding up military promotions to protest the Pentagon's abortion travel policy.
“I’m releasing everybody,” Tuberville told reporters after dropping the hold. “I still got a hold on, I think 11, four-star generals, everybody else is completely released from me.”
“Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of servicemembers and military families and threatened our national security – all to push a partisan agenda,” Biden said. “I hope no one forgets what he did.”
While Tuberville said he still has holds on about a dozen four-star officers, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby expressed the importance of the Senate pushing those confirmations through so they can lead troops in “critical military missions.”
Senate briefing on Ukraine aid becomes heated as Republicans demand border policy change: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 6, 2023
Senate Republicans seeking border changes walk out of a classified briefing on Ukraine aid. And, Panera faces another wrongful death lawsuit over its caffeinated lemonade. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
Republican senators walk out of classified briefing
The briefing was held to allow senators time to ask senior Biden administration officials questions, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Q. Brown Jr.
The talks, however, fell apart, with senators from both parties saying the group of Republicans walked out after wanting answers on border security, while the Democrats were looking to keep the focus on Ukraine, as the White House said the funding would run out by the end of the year.
Republican Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., criticized his Democratic colleagues, saying, “Their lack of preparedness to discuss border security policy…was not just an oversight, but a political decision.”
After leaving the briefing, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., of “hijacking” the meeting and trying to steer the conversation to border negotiations. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said some senators walked out because Democrats were unwilling to discuss the border to get the deal done.
Dems want $106B—GOP wants a closed border. That’s the trade. But clueless Dems want to negotiate the border bill. Not going to happen. Is an open border more important to Dems than Ukraine and Israel?
Sen. Tuberville had been blocking the votes in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, which allows military members time and reimbursement for travel out of state to seek an abortion. The block delayed promotions for hundreds of military personnel, creating a backlog.
Tuberville faced increased pressure to drop his hold from senators on both sides of the aisle, citing the threat to military readiness and national security as some officials were forced to take on multiple roles with promotions stalled.
Tuberville said he still has holds on about a dozen four-star officers. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby expressed the importance of the Senate pushing those confirmations through so they can lead troops in “critical military missions.”
Trump responds to ‘dictator’ reports during Fox News town hall
Hannity: “Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?”
Trump: “Except for day one,” Trump said. “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Hannity: “That’s not retribution.”
Trump: “I love this guy; he says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said no, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”
Former President Trump said during a Fox News town hall that he would not be a dictator "except for Day One" if he is elected president next year. https://t.co/gfTULftZeD
Earlier in the day, President Biden, speaking at a fundraising event outside Boston, told supporters if Trump wasn’t running, he wasn’t sure if he’d be running for re-election. Trump addressed those comments during the town hall, saying someone must have given the president talking points.
As for the fourth GOP primary debate, it will air tonight at 8pm EST on NewsNation.
Panera faces second wrongful death suit over caffeinated lemonade
Panera Bread is facing a second wrongful death suit related to its “Charged Lemonade” as a Florida family says the caffeinated drink led 46-year-old Dennis Brown to go into cardiac arrest as he walked home from the restaurant in early October. The lawsuit claims that the ‘charged lemonade’ was not advertised as an energy drink, and there were no warning labels.
A new lawsuit claiming Panera Bread's "Charged Lemonades" lead to someone's death has raised questions about the amount of caffeine in some popular drinks. Here's what consumers should know about the potential health effects. https://t.co/8TW1vRl0AA
According to the suit, Brown, who avoided energy drinks due to his high blood pressure, had ordered several “Charged Lemonades”‘ in the days leading up to his death. In late October, the company issued warnings about its caffeinated lemonade following a similar lawsuit claiming that a 21-year-old woman died after drinking one of the beverages.
According to Panera’s menu at the time of the first lawsuit, a 30-ounce glass of the “Charged Lemonade” contained 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is 10 milligrams less than the daily amount recommended by the USDA for “healthy adults.”
In a statement to ABC News, Panera said it expressed sympathy for Brown’s family but added following an investigation, it does not believe his death was caused by its “Charged Lemonade” and that, like the first lawsuit, it found it to be “without merit.”
After reaching a tentative deal about a month ago, SAG-AFTRA allowed its approximately 160,000 members to return to work, suspending its strike after 118 days. The agreement provides a 7% increase in minimum rates in the first year of the deal and the first-ever protection against the use of artificial intelligence, where actors must consent to being replicated.
Today we close out one of the most important chapters in recent entertainment industry history. The 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts have officially been ratified by SAG-AFTRA members by a vote of 78.33% to 21.67% with a turnout of 38.15%. (1/8) pic.twitter.com/nYg38AkmGA
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, congratulated SAG-AFTRA on the ratification of the deal, saying in a statement that the industry and the jobs it supports can now “return in full force.”
ChatGPT tops list of most popular Wikipedia articles of 2023
Wikipedia says it received over 84 billion page views over the past 12 months; that’s a lot of online searching! But what were the most popular subjects being looked up?
Wikipedia has the answers. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, it released its list of the most popular articles of the year. The most popular topic was ChatGPT. Wikipedia says the AI chatbot, launched just over a year ago and dominated headlines worldwide, registered over 50 million pages on the English version of its site.
Barbenheimer is happening. People are booking the Barbie-Oppenheimer double feature, according to data from cinema chains https://t.co/9JhIHoa3QI
The second most-read article in 2023 was Wikipedia’s annual list of deaths of notable and public figures, which sees high traffic each year. Entries about the sport of cricket made the list for the first time, taking four spots in the top 25, including number three.
That dynamic Hollywood duo known as Barbenheimer – the films “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” – were popular searches this year, coming in at number five and 13, respectively. And, with a tour, an album, a film, and a new romance, Taylor Swift constantly made headlines throughout 2023. The singer added one more accolade this year, having the 12th most popular entry on Wikipedia.
Tommy Tuberville says military holds could be resolved in about a week
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has put a blanket hold on senior military promotions since February to protest a Pentagon policy that provides paid time off and travel expense reimbursement for military members who get an abortion. There are more than 350 military officers waiting to be promoted. Now, 10 months later, Tuberville said he expects a solution in the next week or so.
“We will promote people in the very near future. I don’t know how many at one time,” Tuberville told reporters. “Because we do want to stand up for life and the taxpayers not having to pay for anything to do with abortion and get these people that need to be promoted, promoted.”
Tuberville needs to decide what he’s going to do before Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brings forward a resolution that would allow a bipartisan majority of 60 senators to override the hold and approve the promotions en bloc.
“Members on both sides of the aisle are reaching a boiling point with Senator Tuberville, and before the year is out we are going to act to bring his blockade to an end,” Schumer said.
Schumer said he will bring the resolution up for a vote in the coming weeks.
“I don’t think he’s got the votes,” Tuberville said.
But even if there currently aren’t enough votes, there may be soon. For the resolution to be approved, nine Republicans would have to join all 51 Democrats.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told The Hill that he would support the resolution if no solution is reached by the new year. The second highest-ranking Republican, Sen. John Thune, N.D., wouldn’t rule out voting for it, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he would vote for it if necessary.
“I’m hoping that it’s not necessary. But if I have to I would, yeah,” Graham said.
Republicans are hesitant to back the rules change because it could set a precedent for future rules changes on other promotions and nominees.
Tuberville has been strongly criticized both in public and behind the scenes by his fellow Republicans for the hold. Many members of the GOP oppose the Pentagon abortion policy just like Tuberville, but they don’t think the hold is the right way to handle it.
Tuberville has never wavered in stating his belief that he’s doing this the right reasons.
“It’s the only way that we’ve been able to get the attention of the Democrats. I mean, and it’s the only, only thing that you have to get their attention when you have no power,” Tuberville said of Republicans being in minority. “And so we’ve got their attention. And we’ve had them stirred up pretty good. But at the end of the day, I understand the need for promotions.”
Senate to move toward rules change to end Tuberville military nominations hold
The Senate Rules Committee will take a big step toward ending Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s hold on what is now, according to the Pentagon, 450 military nominees. Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., announced that on Nov. 14, the committee will prepare a proposal on that would allow the chamber to consider the nominations en bloc.
The proposal is officially a suspension of Senate rules until the end of the year. Once it’s approved in the committee, it can move directly to the Senate floor for consideration.
Klobuchar hopes it will allow for a resolution to this issue by Thanksgiving.
“Sen. Tuberville just can’t stop the chain of command of the U.S. military while we’re engaged in conflicts all over the world,” Sen. Klobuchar told reporters.
Republicans said they want to avoid a rules change, but many haven’t ruled it out.
“We talked about the possible resolution, you know, going through markup,” Tuberville, R-Ala., said. “We don’t want to do that. We don’t want to cut the minority short of any kind of power, no matter who’s in the minority, who’s in the majority.”
“I’m hoping it doesn’t get to that,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Nov. 2, after Tuberville blocked fellow Republicans from approving 61 nominees. “I think changing the rules creates precedents that create other issues down the road.”
Senate Republicans met for two hours on Tuesday, Nov. 7, to discuss alternatives with Tuberville, who said he’s willing to negotiate.
“It was really constructive,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said, echoing the sentiment Republicans gave as they exited.
GOP members are actively trying to convince Tuberville to relent, but for now, he said he will keep his hold on the nominees in protest of the Pentagon policy that provides travel expense reimbursement and paid time off for service members who get an abortion.
“I mean, there’s really not a side to this because we’re all for the military and Republicans are all for the unborn,” Tuberville said. “And so that’s what I’m trying to do is balance that — trying to get people promoted at the same time.”
Tuberville told reporters he’s considering the following options to end this impasse:
Voting on nominations individually.
Allowing for swift passage via unanimous consent for nominees that are most crucial to national security or have the biggest impact down the chain of command.
Filing a lawsuit to fight the policy in court.
Getting an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act that would end the policy.
“Now we’re running nine months,” Tuberville said. “We’re in virgin territory here. We ain’t never done this before.”
While Klobuchar said she hopes a rules change can help overcome the military holds by Thanksgiving, Tuberville did not have a timeline for any of his options.
Senate Republicans won’t rule out rules change over Tuberville military hold
Senate Republicans are publicly pressuring Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., to drop his blanket hold on military nominees that has been in place since February 2023. Tuberville is protesting a Pentagon policy that provides travel expense reimbursement and paid time off for military service members who get an abortion.
Republicans are proposing alternatives to Tuberville, like filing a lawsuit or limiting his hold to the Pentagon’s policy chief.
Right-wing senators are working to get the 378 pending nominations approved. If the lawmakers’ attempts fail, many won’t rule out a temporary change to the Senate’s rules that would prevent Tuberville from blocking nominee approvals in large groups.
“There’s talk about suspending rules, there’s talk about changing rules — we’d like to avoid this,” Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said. “There’s a growing block of Republican senators, pro-life senators, who think this is not in furtherance of our national interest or national security and we’re prepared to act if we have to.”
There’s talk about suspending rules, there’s talk about changing rules — we’d like to avoid this. There’s a growing block of Republican senators, pro-life senators, who think this is not in furtherance of our national interest or national security and we’re prepared to act if we have to.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.
“I’m hoping it doesn’t get to that. I think changing the rules creates precedents that create other issues down the road,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said.
Republicans — like Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa — are expressing dismay over the hold’s impacts on the families of service members as they are unable to enroll in schools or find a job while they wait to move to their new city.
Republicans are also warning Tuberville that his tactic could one day be used against their own party.
“If we take back the White House, the Mexico City Policy will be reintroduced which limits federal dollars to overseas organizations who perform abortions,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. “Some of the more liberal people won’t like that. If they tried to hold the military nominees say under President Trump to get him to change policy, he would never give in. So, I think the best way to challenge this is in court.”
Graham raised concerns that some of the nominees are coming up against the “up or out” deadline, which requires service members to leave the military if they are not promoted within a certain period of time.
“Why would you want to throw your best team off the field?” Graham asked.
Tuberville said he respectfully disagrees with his colleagues who contend his hold is negatively impacting military readiness.
“The fact is no jobs, no jobs are going unfilled. Every job is being done,” Tuberville said.
However, every job is being done because nominees have to fulfill the duties of both their current job and the job they’re nominated for in an acting capacity, which is taking a toll.
Marine Commandant Gen. Eric Smith is recovering from a heart attack after weeks of working from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. since he is also performing the duties of assistant commandant. Tuberville also has a hold on that nomination.
“If you want to do this, go after the people who are making the policy, not the people who have nothing to do with it and are simply there trying to do their jobs and keep our country safe,” Thune said.
If the Senate was to have a full vote on each individual nomination as Tuberville has proposed, getting them all approved would take months.