Alaska senator blocks Navy chief confirmation

Sen. Dan Sullivan is blocking the confirmation of Adm. Daryl Caudle — the otherwise uncontroversial nominee for the Navy’s top officer — over the Alaska Republican’s desire to reopen a naval air station in his home state, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The move could extend the service’s five-month gap without a confirmed leader through the Senate’s August recess, and just as the Navy is considering winnowing its top-level positions.

Sullivan, a relentless booster for his home state, is objecting to the Senate confirmation due to issues that have nothing to do with Caudle. The four-star admiral sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee vote without any issues.

The hold is a way for the Alaska lawmaker to put pressure on the Navy so the Pentagon agrees to reopen the long-shuttered Adak Naval Air Station, located in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The Pentagon closed the base after the Cold War.

Sullivan declined to comment. The Pentagon referred queries to the White House, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Capt. Adam Clampitt, Navy Secretary John Phelan’s spokesperson, did not comment on the hold, but said Phelan “is focused on maintaining our nation’s maritime dominance and nothing will distract him from this critically important mission.”

Sullivan has said that expanding the U.S. military presence around Alaska is critical to deter Russian and Chinese incursions in the region, and he has obtained endorsements for reopening the station from some top military commanders. While Sullivan pushed to include Adak funding in the GOP’s recently passed megabill, the law’s language says only that $115 million is for “exploration and development of existing Arctic infrastructure.”

The base was first used as a launching pad for U.S. missions against Japan in World War II. The island later played an important role in the Cold War, boasting a deep-water port, a pair of 7,000 foot runways and B-57 nuclear depth bombs. About 6,000 troops called the island home before the base was closed in 1997.

Caudle appeared well on the way to confirmation — and the vast majority of military promotions are approved without opposition. But all 100 senators must agree to speed up consideration of nominees, which the Senate is trying to do to start its August recess.

Sullivan’s objection means that Pentagon and Senate leaders will need to strike a deal with him to continue the process. Sen. Majority Leader John Thune could hold extra procedural votes to get Caudle confirmed. But that move is highly unlikely as he would undercut a fellow Republican with a gripe against the Pentagon.

The Navy has been without a top military official since February, when President Trump fired the last chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

Caudle, now the Fleet Forces Command chief, was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee in a Tuesday vote along with several other top military promotions. He emerged as a main contender for the Navy’s top military officer in April, but was not officially nominated for the job until June.

He wasn’t nominated earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter, because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had wanted President Donald Trump to interview and sign off on Caudle and other military picks.

Sullivan has previously held up confirmation for military officials to try to extract concessions, including Gen. C.Q. Brown’s promotion for Air Force chief of staff in 2020 and the previous administration’s Pentagon picks.