Republican Tommy Tuberville's military holds in protest of abortion policy come to an end

WASHINGTON ? Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's blockade on military promotions that stretched over 10 months has come to an end.

The Alabama lawmaker, who has been protesting a Pentagon policy on abortion since February, told reporters Tuesday that he would be lifting holds on military promotions for nominees three stars and below. The blockade has prevented more than 400 military jobs from being filled.

"It's been a long fight. We fought hard. We did the right thing for the unborn and for our military," he said Tuesday.

Depending on the case, the Pentagon can give service members time off and will pay for travel to have an abortion. The policy was put into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Tuberville's release on the holds still requires four-star nominees – which now number 11 – to be voted on individually on the Senate floor.

"We didn't get as much out of it as we wanted," he said of his blockade.

The retired college football coach said he has no regrets blocking the nominations in protest of the Pentagon's policy.

"The only opportunity you got to get people on the left up here to listen to you in the minority is to put a hold on something, and that's what we did," he said. "I think we opened our eyes a little bit. We didn't get the win that we wanted. We've still got a bad policy."

Tuberville said he is now looking to Republicans in the House to rescind the Pentagon abortion policy in the annual defense spending bill.

"We're pleased obviously that that situation seems to have been ameliorated," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said after Tuberville's announcement.

Just hours after Tuberville's announcement, the Senate voted to confirm more than 400 military promotions, leaving the 11 four-star nominees' confirmations pending.

President Joe Biden said in a statement late Tuesday that the confirmations were long overdue.

"In the end, this was all pointless," he said in a statement. "Senator Tuberville, and the Republicans who stood with him, needlessly hurt hundreds of servicemembers and military families and threatened our national security ? all to push a partisan agenda. I hope no one forgets what he did."

Republicans urged Tuberville to end blockade

Tuberville's decision to release the holds comes after Republican colleagues have pushed the Alabama lawmaker to cave on the protest.

The Senate Rules Committee voted along party lines in November to change a rule that Tuberville has used to block the nominations and promotions. But the rule change would need 60 votes on the Senate floor to take effect.

Senate leaders from both sides have condemned Tuberville for blocking the nominations. McConnell had called Tuberville's actions "dangerous."

The situation escalated in November when a group of senators took to the Senate floor urging Tuberville to lift the hold. The lawmakers, over the course of five hours, highlighted the names, biographies and pictures of military nominees and called for individual votes on each.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville caves on military holds over abortion policy