The nation's top Marine has been hospitalized due to a "medical emergency," officials say, leaving a three-star ranked leader to take charge thanks to a stalled confirmation process led by Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the Corps' abortion policy.
Gen. Eric Smith suffered a health scare on Sunday night, leaving Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, to lead in his stead, according to a report by Marine Corps Times.
The outlet learned that the lower-ranked Heckl has been performing the leader's duties.
The Marine Corps didn’t immediately respond to a question about what the difference was between “acting commandant” and “performing the duties of commandant.”
Smith's No. 2, or assistant commandant, has been one of many ranks left vacant or stalled after being held up by the Senate thanks to Tuberville's procedural move to halt them until the Pentagon curtails its policy permitting paid leave along with travel reimbursements for abortions, which he, with the support of fellow Republicans, has called illegal.
Tuberville recently said that he wasn't going to renege on his blockade, stalling 360 military promotions.
“It’s typical of this place," Tuberville told CNN’s Manu Raju on “Inside Politics" Sunday. "This administration would rather burn the Senate down, and that’s what would happen … If you change the rules of the Senate, then it lasts forever.
“So, they would rather burn down the Senate than negotiate."
Raw Story attempted to reach Sen. Tuberville about Smith's health scare and ask whether he would relent in his stalling tactic in lieu of the Marine Corps No. 2 vacancy. Those requests were not immediately returned.
The only reason Gen. Smith was sworn in back in September was due to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sidestepping Tuberville by holding a la carte votes on Smith as well as new Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown Jr. and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
It also includes Vice Adm. Charles B. Cooper, the nominee to serve as deputy commander in charge of all U.S. military operations in the Middle East, as well as Rear Adm. George M. Wikoff, who would be commanding the Navy's 5th Fleet and all naval and combined maritime forces in the region.
The top Marine had come forward to admit that he was working at almost superhuman capacity with very little shuteye.
“Nobody should feel bad for me,” Smith said, speaking to reporters on Sept. 6 at the Defense News Conference in Arlington, Virginia.
“I make plenty of money, and nobody usually yells at me, so that’s good. But it is not a sustainable thing when the last thing you do is flip your computer off at 11:30 at night and you’re getting up at 5 o’clock in the morning," he explained.
