President Joe Biden on Friday appointed Admiral Lisa Franchetti as head of naval operations, the highest position in the US Navy. If confirmed by the Senate, she will become the first woman to hold the post.
In that capacity, she would also sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That would also be a first, as no woman has ever been a member of the highest military institution in the United States.
Franchetti is only the second woman in the United States to achieve the rank of four-star admiral, President Biden said in a statement, praising her background, which includes commanding a guided-missile destroyer, a destroyer squadron and two carrier strike groups.
Admiral Franchetti’s nomination will, however, have to be approved by the Senate, where a series of senior military and diplomatic appointments are stalled due to blockages by Republican senators.
This is the case, for example, with the commander of the Marine Corps and dozens of other military posts blocked by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, who opposes a Pentagon policy of providing financial assistance to military personnel who have to travel for abortions.
“What Senator Tuberville is doing is not just wrong, it’s dangerous,” jeopardising national security, President Biden commented.
The prerogatives of the US Senate include approving - or rejecting - appointments decided by the President of the United States, whether they be ministerial, military, diplomatic or judicial.
The most senior officials go through committee hearings, but many of these appointments are approved in bulk, without a vote. A senator can, however, block them to advance a given cause.
Another Republican senator, Rand Paul, has been blocking about 60 State Department appointments, including 34 ambassadorial posts, citing the Biden administration's refusal to provide documents related to the origins of COVID-19, even though, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the department has cooperated and there is "no reason" for the blockade.
As a result, “for the first time, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon will have no confirmed US ambassador” this summer, Antony Blinken, head of US diplomacy, said last week.
