Senate committee advances senior OSD nominees

The Senate Armed Services Committee today voted to advance four senior Defense Department nominees to the full chamber for confirmation votes.

The nominees advancing include Cara Abercrombie to be assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, Aprille Ericsson to be assistant secretary of defense for science and technology, Ronald Keohane to be assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, and Douglas Schmidt to be director of operational test and evaluation.

It's unclear when or if the nominees will receive speedy confirmation votes, however, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who withdrew his holds on military nominees has said he intends to keep his block in place for Pentagon civilians as he continues to protest DOD’s travel and leave policy for servicemembers seeking abortion services.

The Senate has confirmed just one DOD nominee since April -- Nickolas Guertin to be the Navy’s assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition.