By Micaela Burrow, The Daily Caller
The top civilian leaders of each armed service called on Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville to lift his one-man hold on promotions for generals and admirals in an opinion article published Tuesday in The Washington Post.
Tuberville began refusing to give his consent for bloc promotions in March to protest against the Pentagon’s then-new policy funding out-of-state travel for servicemembers seeking abortions, saying the policy violates a law against taxpayer-funded abortions.
As the holds stack up and as the senator recently started singling out espousal of leftist ideology in the military by some of the top nominees, the secretaries of the Navy, Air Force and Army implored Tuberville to relent or risk “eroding” the foundation of the U.S. military.
“Senators have many legislative and oversight tools to show their opposition to a specific policy … but 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,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Army Secretary Christine Wormuth wrote. “And it is putting our national security at risk.”
Nearly 300 top officers have not been able to promote, including the Marine Corps commandant, the chief of naval operations and the Army chief of staff.
Those roles are being filled by acting leaders who lack the authorities of confirmed leaders and are still fulfilling duties of their previous roles, placing “a real and unfair burden on these officers,” the secretaries said.
“Any claim that holding up the promotions of top officers does not directly damage the military is wrong — plain and simple,” they argued.
Officers down the chain of command experience spillover effects from the holds, according to the secretaries. More seriously, the holds could discourage colonels and captains from seeking to advance.
“They are watching this spectacle and might conclude that their service at the highest ranks of our military is no longer valued by members of Congress or, by extension, the American public,” the secretaries said.
I didn’t start this.
The Biden Admin injected politics into the military and imposed an unlawful abortion policy on the American taxpayers.
I am trying to get politics out of the military. pic.twitter.com/5Rgd0MZJKC
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) September 2, 2023
“It’s not news that Joe Biden’s hand-picked civilian appointees are all parroting the party line,” Steven Stafford, a spokesperson for Tuberville, told the DCNF.
The secretaries maintained that the abortion policy is “critical and necessary to meet our obligations to the force,” although the Pentagon told reporters on Aug. 29 it does not plan to track the number of servicemembers who take advantage of the travel funds or for what purpose.
In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) determined in October that the policy did not violate the law.
The secretaries implied that Tuberville has spurned bipartisan paths of reconciliation, instead indicating he plans to escalate the holds and launching “baseless political attacks” on the nominees.
Tuberville has promoted reporting that exposes the nominees’ histories of buying in on or promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and intersectionality or making hiring decisions with diversity as a priority.
“It is time to lift this dangerous hold and confirm our senior military leaders,” they said.
“If these civilian Biden appointees want the service chiefs confirmed, then they can call Chuck Schumer,” Stafford added, and vote on each nominee one by one.
Biden Pentagon Leaders Call Access to Abortion ‘Critical and Necessary’ (Breitbart, 5 Sep 23)
Biden Pentagon leaders call the policy to fund travel and time off for troops seeking abortions “critical and necessary” in an op-ed aimed at increasing pressure on Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) — who has blocked blanket confirmation in the Senate of a slew of military officer promotions over the policy.
Civilian leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force write in the Washington Post:
These officers and the millions of service members they lead are the foundation of America’s enduring military advantage. Yet this foundation is being actively eroded by the actions of a single U.S. senator, Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is blocking the confirmation of our most senior military officers.
“After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, this policy is critical and necessary to meet our obligations to the force,” they argue.
They also say it is “putting our national security at risk.” . . . . (read more)
There’s An Easy Solution If The Pentagon Is Really Worried About ‘National Security’: Stop Subsidizing Abortion (The Federalist, 6 SEP 23)
If Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville doesn’t halt his protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, the United States could literally become engulfed in World War III.
Sounds a bit melodramatic, doesn’t it? Not according to Secretaries Carlos Del Toro (Navy), Frank Kendall (Air Force), and Christine Wormuth (Army), who all but said as much in their new Washington Post opinion column.
Published on Monday, the 800-plus word screed is an obvious attempt by President Biden’s Defense Department to pressure Tuberville into abandoning his protest of the Pentagon’s use of taxpayer money to cover service members’ travel expenses and paid time off to get abortions.
Contrary to the narrative framed by the Biden administration and their legacy media allies, Tuberville is not blocking votes, but is forcing the Senate Armed Services Committee to vote on each nomination individually rather than voting “en masse on large numbers of nominations.” . . . . (read more)
‘I Want You’: Sign the Letter to Support Sen. Tuberville’s Fight Against Woke Military (Heritage Foundation)
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