Rep. Joe Heck (R., Nev.), who is also a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, is still awaiting promotion to brigadier general, Roll Call reports, despite no clear reason for the delay in his promotion:
Army Reserve Col. Joe Heck is up for what appears to be a routine promotion to be a brigadier general. But no seems to be able to say why Heck, who is known on the House floor as "the gentleman from Nevada," has been stopped in his tracks.
The GOP congressman’s nomination is apparently being held up by something or someone, given that it has been languishing on the Senate calendar since May. The reasons for the delay could involve the constitutionality of promoting a lawmaker to the rank of general, or they could simply be related to Pentagon policy. Then there’s the question of whether a member of Congress should also serve as a general overseeing all Army Reserve field medical units on the East Coast. [...]
Still, the delay likely has been caused by either the Senate or the Defense Department. But Senate leadership and Pentagon sources — both military and civilian — have professed to have no idea what prompted the delay in Heck’s elevation or have played coy, leaving the mystery unresolved.
Heck is an osteopathic physician, and has been in the Army Reserve since 1991; if he were confirmed, Heck would be able to become deputy commander of the troop program unit at the Third Medical Command in Atlanta, according to Roll Call.
One possible area of conflict for Heck involves whether, Constitutionally, members of congress can simultaneously serve in certain roles. A court previously ruled that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), who is in the Air Force Reserve, could not serve as a military judge.