After thousands of military spouses mobilized by signing the Secure Families Initiative “Stop Playing Politics with the Military” petition and calling their Senators to urge an end to the confirmation holds, the SFI community is relieved that Senator Tuberville has finally released hundreds of military leaders he was blocking from hard-earned promotion.
Secure Families Initiative Leads Community
SFI was the first military spouse or military community organization to speak out against Tuberville’s holds. We gained national attention in July when we launched and delivered the “Stop Playing Politics with the Military” petition because it was innovative and newsworthy to hear from our community.
But our work together to end the holds didn’t end there. We continued to strategize, meet with lawmakers and speak to press to keep pressure on Tuberville. And you worked alongside of us! Using our Tuberville Toolkit, you called Senators, posted on social media and rallied for a Senate Resolution to circumvent Tuberville.
Let us be clear: Tuberville would never have dropped his hold without our relentless pressure, advocacy and story-telling. You did this!
What Now?
While Tuberville dropping his holds is a clear victory, our work is not done yet. There are still about a dozen nominees left to be confirmed. Tuberville claims he’s holding 11 four-star General nominees, and just today Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri announced he’s blocking the unanimous consent confirmation of handful of 3-star promotions. His spokesperson said, “Senator Schmitt has placed a hold on a handful of promotions relating to concerns that he has regarding those nominees’ stances or actions relating to divisive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the military…”
We will continue to follow these nominees and fight for their confirmation. Stay tuned as we monitor the situation and take action.
Thank you for taking action with us and standing up for our community.
SFI Statement on Tuberville Releasing Holds
Click to read our full statement from December 5: MILITARY FAMILIES WHO PETITIONED TUBERVILLE WELCOME RELEASE OF PROMOTION HOLDS.