{"id":28995,"date":"2023-11-02T19:20:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T19:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/02\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:00:18","slug":"no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2023\/11\/02\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 2 Marine confirmed by Senate amid top Marine\u2019s health crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senators rushed to confirm the No. 2 Marine Corps leader, who will lead the service while the No. 1 Marine remains hospitalized following a medical emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney as the assistant commandant, usually the second-in-command role in the Marine Corps. But because the Marine commandant, Gen. Eric Smith, has been in the hospital after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/11\/01\/top-marine-general-in-stable-condition-after-apparent-heart-attack\/\">reportedly experiencing a heart attack<\/a> on Sunday, <a href=\"https:\/\/uscode.house.gov\/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section8044&#038;num=0&#038;edition=prelim\" target=\"_blank\">Mahoney also will perform the duties of commandant<\/a> for the time being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That means Marine Corps leadership is back to where it was before September, with the assistant commandant juggling the top two jobs in the Marine Corps at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Smith\u2019s hospitalization, Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl had been performing the duties of commandant, without an assistant commandant and without an official replacement in his usual job of deputy commandant for combat development and integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2023\/11\/02\/senate-finally-confirms-adm-franchetti-as-navys-top-officer\/\" target=\"_blank\">confirming the Navy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/11\/02\/senate-confirms-gen-david-allvin-as-air-force-chief-of-staff\/\" target=\"_blank\">Air Force chiefs<\/a> by roll-call vote, the Senate confirmed Mahoney through a roll-call vote, with 86 voting in favor and none voting against the Marine\u2019s confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/11\/01\/top-marine-general-in-stable-condition-after-apparent-heart-attack\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Gen.-Eric-Smith-Marine-Corps-DN-CONF.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Top Marine general in stable condition after apparent heart attack<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Marine Commandant Gen. Eric Smith was hospitalized Sunday evening following what the Marine Corps called a \u201cmedical emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Corps hasn\u2019t had both a commandant and an assistant commandant since July 10, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/10\/the-corps-is-without-a-confirmed-top-marine-for-the-1st-time-since-1910\/\">Commandant Gen. David Berger retired<\/a>, leaving Smith in charge as the assistant commandant. Even after Smith<a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/22\/top-marine-leader-sworn-in-1-day-after-senate-confirmation\/\" target=\"_blank\"> was confirmed as commandant<\/a> by individual vote Sept. 21, Mahoney\u2019s confirmation remained in Senate limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s because since February Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, has refused to confirm senior military nominees through unanimous consent, in protest of a Pentagon policy covering time off and travel expenses for service members who travel out of state for abortions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuberville.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/tuberville-forces-floor-vote-on-military-nominations\/\">argued that the military\u2019s leadership gaps aren\u2019t his fault<\/a> and that it\u2019s on the Pentagon to reverse its abortion policy or the Senate Democrats to hold individual roll-call votes on nominees. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armed-services.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fact_sheet_on_military_promotions_holds2.pdf\">Democratic leaders estimated<\/a> in September it would take 100 days of nothing but holding votes 8 hours a day to confirm what were then 273 nominees. The number of nominees has since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/3573660\/pentagon-official-underscores-impact-of-senate-hold-on-dod-nominees\/\">grown to 378<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith, 58, said Sept. 6 while wearing both the assistant commandant and acting commandant hats that he had been sleeping approximately five hours a night, keeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/09\/18\/as-both-the-no-1-and-no-2-marine-his-schedule-is-not-sustainable\/\">a schedule that was \u201cnot sustainable.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t mind breaking my own back,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s just, I have to make good decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith said Friday, days before his hospitalization, that officially becoming commandant hadn\u2019t diminished his workload, because he still had two full-time jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Smith-swearing-in.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Smith-swearing-in.png.png 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Smith-swearing-in.png.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Smith-swearing-in.png.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Smith-swearing-in.png.png?resize=1024,576 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gen. Eric Smith is sworn in as the 39th Marine commandant by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in September in the Pentagon. (Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, on Tuesday<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/10\/31\/reed-tuberville-military-marine-hospitalization-00124548\" target=\"_blank\"> accused Tuberville of contributing to Smith\u2019s medical issue <\/a>by holding up on military confirmations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the reasons, I think contributed to his condition was he was doing two jobs at once,\u201d Reed told Politico. \u201cI\u2019ve read where he was working from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. As a result, if he had, as is normal, an assistant, he could switch off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asked by Marine Corps Times for comment on Reed\u2019s remarks, Steven Stafford, a spokesman for Tuberville, said via email on Thursday, \u201cCoach is praying for a swift recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville, a former college football coach, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuberville.senate.gov\/about\/\">often goes by Coach.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville was more blunt about Reed\u2019s comments in a conversation with reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCome on, give me a break,\u201d he said, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alanhe\/status\/1720106004136829275\">video posted to X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter, by CBS reporter Alan He. \u201cThis guy is going to work 18-20 hours a day no matter what. That\u2019s what we do. I did that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, announced he would move forward with the individual nominations for the chief of naval operations, the Air Force chief of staff and Mahoney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following night, Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Dan Sullivan of Alaska \u2014 both of whom served in the military \u2014 spent more than four hours attempting to bring up for a vote 61 of the 378 pending nominations stalled by Tuberville, calling it an issue of national security and common sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are punishing [these officers] for what all of us here believe is a very bad policy at the Department of Defense,\u201d Ernst said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a policy they have absolutely nothing to do with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuberville objected to quick consideration of every one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy hold is on unanimous consent, not the individuals,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TTuberville\/status\/1719725388085997627\">Tuberville wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cThey can be voted on one at a time&#8230;just like always.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, Tuberville joined the other 85 senators in voting to confirm Mahoney in the roll-call vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Who\u2019s in charge of the Marines?<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/11\/01\/top-marine-general-in-stable-condition-after-apparent-heart-attack\/\">is now in stable condition<\/a> but remains in a Washington hospital as he recovers, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leadership gap that came with Smith\u2019s hospitalization arose at an already turbulent moment for the U.S. military, which has deployed troops and resources to the Mediterranean in an effort to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spilling over into the rest of the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is in the region after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/10\/11\/marine-unit-leaves-kuwait-exercise-early-because-of-emerging-events\/\">leaving early from an exercise in Kuwait<\/a>, although the Marine Corps has declined to provide specifics about the unit\u2019s location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heckl was put in charge after Smith\u2019s medical emergency because he was the most senior officer at Marine Corps headquarters, the Corps previously said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mahoney, 58, will pin on a fourth star Friday morning in a ceremony at the Pentagon, Marine spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger told Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/07\/27\/marine-aviator-picked-as-choice-for-assistant-commandant-of-the-corps\/\">picked Mahoney<\/a> in July for the assistant commandant job. Mahoney, callsign \u201cMoe,\u201d is a career aviator who has flown more than 5,000 hours, in the A-6, F-5, F-18 and F-35, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pandr.marines.mil\/Leaders\/Biography\/Article\/553889\/lieutenant-general-christopher-mahoney\/\">his official bio<\/a> and spokesman Maj. Kevin Stephensen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most recently, he served as the deputy commandant for programs and resources, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pandr.marines.mil\/About\/\">the fiscal director<\/a> of the Marine Corps. In that role, Mahoney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2022\/11\/22\/marine-3-star-myth-busts-notions-about-force-design-2030\/\">defended Force Design 2030<\/a>, the revamp that has attracted criticism from some retired Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the Marine Corps I grew up in for the last 35 years, internal disagreements stay internal,\u201d Mahoney told a crowd with dozens of retired Marine leaders in November 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In July, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Releases\/Release\/Article\/3461347\/general-officer-announcement\/\" target=\"_blank\">the White House tapped Maj. Gen. James Adams III<\/a> to replace Mahoney, but Adams\u2019 nomination has been caught up in Tuberville\u2019s hold. The current assistant deputy commandant for programs and resources is Marine veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pandr.marines.mil\/Leaders\/Biography\/Article\/553892\/ses-edward-c-gardiner\/\">Edward Gardiner<\/a>, who has helped manage the Corps\u2019 budgeting process for more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gardiner will be leading programs and resources in an acting capacity upon Mahoney\u2019s promotion, Stenger confirmed to Marine Corps Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Military Times reporter Leo Shane contributed reporting.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated Thursday with information from Marine spokesman Maj. Jim Stenger.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney will perform the duties of commandant while Commandant Gen. Eric Smith remains hospitalized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":64900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,11,36,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3426],"class_list":["post-28995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FJHTRLL7UVHUFANVMBXYT4Z6B4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2023\/11\/02\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>No. 2 Marine confirmed by Senate amid top Marine\u2019s health crisis - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lt. 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Eric Smith remains hospitalized.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2023\/11\/02\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-02T19:20:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T21:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irene Loewenson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irene Loewenson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"No. 2 Marine confirmed by Senate amid top Marine\u2019s health crisis\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-11-02T19:20:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T21:00:18+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1138,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Mahoney-speaking.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"The Americas\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"No. 2 Marine confirmed by Senate amid top Marine\u2019s health crisis - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/11\\\/02\\\/no-2-marine-confirmed-by-senate-amid-top-marines-health-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Mahoney-speaking.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-11-02T19:20:26+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T21:00:18+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Lt. 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