Lisa Franchetti becomes first woman to head US Navy | Abroad

Admiral Franchetti, whose appointment as head of the US Navy was confirmed by a vote of 95 to 1, has held several positions of responsibility in her career, from destroyer commander to number two in naval operations. She also served as deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa. She was confirmed Thursday as Navy chief, a position she already held on an interim basis. She was nominated by President Joe Biden in July.

Hundreds of promotions and confirmations of US military officials have been blocked in the Senate for months by the action of a single Republican, Senator Tommy Tuberville, who is protesting the Pentagon’s abortion policy. The Department of Defense pays for travel costs to perform an abortion in another state if a soldier (or his family) is stationed in a state where abortion is illegal. That is unacceptable for Tuberville.

In the Senate, just one senator (out of a hundred) already has the capacity to block the rapid approval of a nominee for a federal position. The 99 other senators can then circumvent the blockade by organizing a series of votes to lift the blockade.

But the problem exposed by Tuberville is special because of the tradition of jointly and unanimously ratifying senior military positions. To undo the blockade, each candidate officer would have to be voted on individually, a laborious process that would take months. Due to her high rank and the importance of her position, an individual vote was organized for Lisa Franchetti.

Some Tuberville party members were fed up with his blockade. “Why are we holding war heroes hostage?” asked Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, himself a colonel in the Navy Reserves. “I don’t understand it.”