US Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti has been approved by the Senate for the position of Chief of Naval Operations.

She becomes the first woman to join the elite group of senior military officers who make up the Joint Chiefs of Staff as Chief of Naval Operations.

The Senate approved her nomination 95-1, as it sought to fill critical military leadership positions.

In protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, one Republican senator has tried to block military appointments.

Served as an aircraft carrier strike commander and as head of the US 6th Fleet and US naval forces in South Korea for 38 years.

It was the first time a woman had been nominated to lead a Pentagon military service branch by President Joe Biden.

Despite being led by a woman – Admiral Linda Fagan – the Coast Guard is a Department of Homeland Security branch rather than a Department of Defense one.

The US Air Force has appointed General David Allvin as chief of staff, and the Marine Corps has approved Lt Gen Chris Mahoney as Assistant Commandant, a confirmation that became more urgent after the Marine Corps Commandant appeared to have suffered a heart attack on Sunday.

For the past nine months, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has prevented the Democrat-majority Senate from confirming nearly 400 military promotions over a Pentagon policy that pays the travel expenses of service members who have to go out of state to have an abortion.

The Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan chastised Mr Tuberville for punishing US troops’ careers over a policy dispute they had no say in.

During the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, military officials and lawmakers have said he poses a threat to US national security.