OAN’s Taylor Tinsley
2:44 PM – Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville is facing mounting pressure from Democrats and some fellow Republicans to stop an ongoing hold of military promotions and nominations in an attempt to change Pentagon abortion policy.
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Several lawmakers targeted Tuberville (R-Ala.) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, for the Air Force’s new chief of staff.
“I will be blunt. The actions of the senator from Alabama have become a national security nightmare,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Warren’s remarks come as General Mark Milley is set to retire as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the end of September and it’s unclear whether the position of the military’s highest ranking officer will have a successor.
Tuberville’s blockade comes in an attempt to stop the Department of Defense from providing paid time off and reimbursed travel costs for service members and dependents getting an abortion.
GOP Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also said the Alabama Senators ongoing hold is a national security problem and urged Tuberville to reconsider.
“The idea that one man in the Senate can hold this up for months, I understand maybe promotions but nominations is paralyzing the Department of Defense,” McCaul said during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union.
Tuberville didn’t discuss his stance Tuesday, but during a previous interview with One America’s John Hines the Republican Senator said the “military is not an equal opportunity employer” and is supposed to protect the U.S. and its allies.
“So it’s not really true that you’re holding up all of the nominees,” Hines pointed out. “It’s just the idea to get them approved on block is that correct?”
“Exactly,” Tuberville responded. “They (Democrats) don’t want ‘em to be vetted, they want to do it their way. They want to do 50, 100, 200 at a time and I said no we’re not going to do that. Now, I can’t hold them up from doing one at a time and that’s what they should’ve been doing all along.”
Tuberville went on to blame Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying if he goes through with just one nomination then “he’s admitted guilt.”
North Carolina Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) came to Tuberville’s defense during Tuesday’s hearing. Budd also pointed fingers at Schumer saying the Senate Majority Leader should take the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff nomination to the floor.
“Let’s just remember that leader Schumer can bring all of these wonderful nominees to the floor for a vote, rather than being here having this discussion we could be here voting and moving these nominees through,” said Budd. “Also Secretary LLoyd Austin could change this with a stroke of a pen, by this afternoon we could have this resolved if Secretary Austin would revert to the historical policy we’ve had for decades.”
Tuberville said Democrats are trying to blame him for ruining the military when in reality, he claims the real problem is that they’ve gone so woke they can no longer recruit.
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