Tommy Tuberville is digging deeper on his single-senator blockade, which has already stalled 301 US military promotions, with aides saying his complaint now is compounded by liberal “woke” sentiment among officers in line for top jobs in addition to his previous crusade against the Pentagon’s abortion policies.
The Alabama Republican’s “hold” on Senate confirmation votes could extend to as many as 650 promotions by year-end if it continues, drawing warnings of damage to the nation’s military readiness by three civilian military leaders.
“Placing a blanket hold on all general and flag officer nominees, who as apolitical officials have traditionally been exempt from the hold process, is unfair to these military leaders and their families,” Carlos Del Toro, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Kendall, the Secretary of the Air Force and Christine Wormuth, the Secretary of the Army, wrote in the Washington Post on Monday. “It is putting our national security at risk,” they said.
It’s like “going into the football season with a bunch of acting coaches,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday in a metaphor fitting for Tuberville, who gained fame as a college football coach before winning election to the Senate.
Tuberville has blocked military promotions for more than six months, insisting the Defense Department under President Joe Biden end a policy that lets personnel take leave and travel for abortion care or other reproductive health problems if it’s unavailable in the states where they are stationed.
The Pentagon has said the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion could make it even harder to keep talent and attract new service members.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, Tuberville continued to insist that the Pentagon reverse its travel policy, otherwise, “we’re going to be in a hold pattern for a long time.”
Fellow Republicans like Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters they’d like to see the issue resolved, and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah suggested a middle ground, like not paying for travel for abortions after 16 weeks.
Now Tuberville’s office is citing claims by a conservative organization, the American Accountability Foundation, which describes itself as “a team of professional investigators working non-stop to expose the left’s secrets and hold Biden accountable.”
In a thread on X, the media platform previously known as Twitter, the organization identified officers up for promotion who have backed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the military — or have said anything positive about those efforts. It served them up as examples of “one of the WOKEST slates of military nominees ever assembled.”
Defense officials have said Tuberville’s holds are damaging readiness up and down the ranks, saying officers serving in acting positions are typically not able to set a vision for their units and often must perform double duty in their old and new posts.
“The military has been filling these vacant positions with temporary commanders, but those acting in a temporary capacity face limits on their authority,” said Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy Program at the Stimson Center. “In the short term, these holds are probably a manageable risk, but the long-term risks are growing, especially to officer morale and retention. More fundamentally, it further politicizes the military, with the potential for significant and lasting harm to civil-military relations.”
Culture Wars
The showdown highlights how the US military, which traditionally has had bipartisan support, increasingly finds itself embroiled in the culture wars gripping US politics. The proportion of Americans who expressed a “great deal” of confidence in the military in June 2023 was 32%, down from 43% in 2013 and 48% in 2003, according to polling by Gallup.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could attempt to force through some of the stalled nominations, but Tuberville could mount procedural challenges that could consume several days for a single individual even as the chamber wrestles with daunting issues including funding the government to avoid a shutdown.
--With assistance from Tony Capaccio, Laura Litvan and Steven T. Dennis.
(Updates with Tuberville quote, in paragraph.)
