By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON A majority of the U.S. Senate backed U.S. Air Force chief General Charles Q. Brown on Wednesday to be the top U.S. military officer, as lawmakers moved to confirm some of the top senior officers whose promotions have been stalled by a Republican senator's blockade.

As voting continued, senators backed President Joe Biden's nomination of Brown to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by 70 to 5.

Brown is a former fighter pilot who brings experience in the Pacific to the position at a time of rising tension with China.

He will be only the second Black officer to chair the Joint Chiefs after Colin Powell two decades ago.

The Senate moved ahead with votes on Brown and two other top military officers as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, used a procedural maneuver to sidestep a blockade by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville.

Tuberville began blocking confirmations to senior Pentagon posts in March to protest a Defense Department policy enacted last year that provides paid leave and reimburses costs for service members who travel to get an abortion.

The Senate is due to vote on Biden's nomination of General Randy George to become chief of staff of the Army, and General Eric Smith to become the next commandant of the Marine Corps on Thursday.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese)