Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has dropped his objection to President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead Army forces in the Pacific, ending a weekslong standoff over the officer’s role in Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization.
The Senate on Tuesday quietly confirmed Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark’s promotion to four-star general. The vote, which Tuberville had been blocking in recent weeks, occurred just hours after the Alabama Republican met with Clark to clear the air.
The reversal, and Clark’s subsequent confirmation, has not been previously reported.
Tuberville placed the procedural hold on Clark’s nomination earlier this month. He argued that Clark, who is currently Austin’s senior military aide, failed to alert the White House about Austin’s condition. The Pentagon chief was hospitalized in January for complications from earlier surgery to treat prostate cancer, and Biden and White House officials were unaware until three days after he was admitted. Austin apologized for the episode .