The Senate voted 89-8 to tee up a final vote on Brown’s nomination.
It’s the first military nomination to advance in the chamber since Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) began his blockade seven months ago. President Biden nominated Brown for the post in May.
Brown, an Air Force general, is set to replace outgoing Chairman Mark Milley, whose term ends Oct. 1. A vote on final passage on Brown to fill the post was set to take place Wednesday evening.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) earlier Wednesday moved to set votes on three key military leaders: Brown, Gen. Eric Smith to become commandant of the Marine Corps and Gen. Randy George to serve as chief of staff of the Army.
Schumer’s maneuver is an attempt to ward off a plan by Tuberville to force votes on Smith in the coming days, a move that is rarely put to use by rank-and-file senators in the minority.
A vote to end debate on George’s nomination was also slated for later Wednesday.
The Army and Marine Corps — along with the Navy — are without Senate-confirmed heads due to Tuberville’s hold, which has kept more than 300 military promotions from being advanced.
The Alabama Republican has kept these promotions in limbo over the Pentagon’s move last year to cover travel expenses of service members who seek abortion care.
Democrats have consistently said in recent months that they had little interest in bringing up individual votes on top military promotions and have maintained that it was the job of top Senate Republicans to loosen Tuberville’s grip on the nominations.
Tuberville announced his plan to force a vote — essentially going around his own hold — during the Senate GOP lunch Tuesday and was set to go to the floor with the requisite 16 signatures by senators backing his push. None of the 16 senators are members of leadership and most hail from the conservative wing of the Senate GOP conference.
Republicans have been stymied throughout in their quest to end Tuberville’s hold, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying he disagrees with how the Alabama senator has tactically gone about the effort.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
