The Pentagon says there are 301 generals and admirals whose nominations have been placed in limbo because of an indefinite “hold” by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, who wants the military to change its policy of reimbursing servicemembers for travel to get reproductive care, including abortions.

By the end of the year, the Pentagon says that number could swell to 650 generals and admirals who need Senate confirmation before they can assume their jobs. Any single senator can put a hold on nominations under Senate rules.

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    The Pentagon says there are 301 generals and admirals whose nominations have been placed in limbo because of an indefinite “hold” by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, who wants the military to change its policy of reimbursing servicemembers for travel to get reproductive care, including abortions.

    “The Department has 83 three- and four-star nominations pending for positions already vacated or due to rotate within the next 150 days,” the Pentagon said in response to questions by reporters.

    The Pentagon says a “small number” of servicemembers are getting reimbursed for trips to get reproductive care, which includes travel for in vitro fertilization, but have yet to come up with any details.

    “The senator from Alabama has chosen a profoundly insulting and damaging path to make his unhappiness known,” said Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

    “I warned the Pentagon that I would hold their most senior nominees if they broke the law,” Tuberville said in a statement, first reported this week by Breitbart News.

    The hope among officials is that Tuberville will at least allow some nominations to go forward for a vote when the Senate returns in September – specifically for the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who serves as the top military adviser to the president.

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