Marine Corps without leader as Sen. Tommy Tuberville holds up nomination votes

The Marine Corps was without a Senate-confirmed commandant for the first time in 164 years Monday as Sen. Tommy Tuberville continued his monthslong blockade on Pentagon appointments in protest of military abortion access policies.

Now-former Commandant Gen. David H. Berger held an unusual “relinquishment of command” ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, ending his term as the corps’ top officer without formally handing the position over to a successor.

Typically, that happens with a “change of command” ceremony.

But as Tuberville (R-Ala.) refuses to relent on his boycott, Berger’s would-be successor, Gen. Eric M. Smith, could only take over as acting commandant.