[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 76 (Thursday, May 4, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Military Nominations

  Mr. President, I want to salute Jack Reed because he put together a 
very important letter which has been made public this morning. Leader 
McConnell and I received a letter from seven former Secretaries of 
Defense--Democrat and Republican alike--they served under Democratic 
and Republican Presidents, including Donald Trump--regarding the 
blanket holds by the Senator from Alabama on the nominations of senior 
military leaders.
  The letter that is signed by Secretary Gates, Cohen, Panetta, Hagel, 
Mattis, Esper, and Perry minces no words. The blanket holds are 
``harming military readiness and risks, damaging U.S. national 
security''--harming military readiness and risks, damaging U.S. 
national security.
  That is the assessment of former Secretaries of State from both 
parties. That is the damage caused by the Senator from Alabama. The 
Secretaries of Defense explained that these holds are preventing key 
leaders from taking important command positions, including leading the 
5th Fleet in Bahrain, critical for keeping Iran in check; and the 7th 
Fleet in the Pacific, critical for keeping the Chinese government in 
check.
  Let me read just one sentence from the letter:

       Leaving these and many other senior positions in doubt at a 
     time of enormous geopolitical uncertainty sends the wrong 
     message to our adversaries and could weaken our deterrence.

  Senator Tuberville's holds are also affecting the next military 
representative to NATO, a post essential in allied efforts to support 
Ukraine.
  The future Director of Intelligence at U.S. Cyber Command is also 
impacted. I hope Senate Republicans read the letter and tell Senator 
Tuberville to drop these reckless holds. I urge all my Republican 
colleagues to impress on Senator Tuberville the damage he is causing to 
our military of people who served for decades and to our own national 
security at a time when we can't afford to drag our heels on national 
defense. All of us in the Senate have strong opinions on various 
topics, but that cannot justify putting our national preparedness at 
risk.