Rick Scott

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced Thursday he was lifting his hold on Coast Guard promotions that had lasted two months.

"As I have said from the beginning, I care deeply about these Coast Guard promotions," Scott said in a statement.

"Though we're still not done, I'm lifting these holds as all parties have been working together in good faith and are moving towards an amenable agreement that gets ships built and is fair to U.S. taxpayers," he added.

The senator said he would continue to "fight to ensure there is more oversight and accountability of the Coast Guard and that we fix the Coast Guard procurement process going forward."

Scott's block followed a $2.38 billion contract the Coast Guard awarded to a Florida shipbuilder in 2016 that later encountered major setbacks, NOTUS reported.

Panama City-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group's original contract to build nine ships was reduced to four due to damage from a 2018 hurricane, NOTUS reported.

Last July, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem canceled the construction of two of the remaining four ships after the company missed delivery deadlines and said it could not meet its contractual obligations, according to NOTUS.

"We cannot allow critical shipbuilding projects to languish over budget and behind schedule," a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement at the time.

"Our Coast Guard needs modern, capable vessels to safeguard our national and economic security, and we will ensure every dollar is spent wisely to achieve that mission," the official added. "This action redirects resources to where they are most needed, ensuring the Coast Guard remains the finest, most-capable maritime service in the world."

In November, Eastern Shipbuilding announced it would stop work on the remaining two boats "due to significant financial strain caused by the program's structure and conditions."

Scott has been a longtime proponent of Eastern Shipbuilding and said he had been working with the Trump administration to resolve the dispute but was struggling to get anywhere, Politico reported.

The Florida senator's hold meant hundreds of promotions could not be approved via simple unanimous consent.