Sen. Tuberville (R-AL): Holding Up DOD Nominations & Promotions Over DOD Abortion Policy

 

Sen. Tuberville is a complete & utter fool

(I swear to be a-hole in the Senate)

Three articles from Politico here, here, and here re: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) holding up Pentagon nominations in the Senate over new policies aimed at female troop’s access to abortion services.

Tuberville plans to delay the approval of civilian Pentagon nominees and top military promotions after the Defense Department moved ahead with a new policy aimed at shoring up troops' access to abortion services. 

Tuberville said: “The Secretary of Defense is following through with his radical plan to facilitate thousands of abortions a year with taxpayer dollars. So, I will follow through with my plan to hold all Department of Defense (DOD) civilian, flag, and general officer nominations that come before the U.S. Senate.”

The DOD Policy:

1. Will cover costs for troops who must travel to obtain abortions and will permit up to 21 days of administrative absence for troops to obtain an abortion or other reproductive care or accompany a spouse or dependent.

2. Will allow service members to wait up to 20 weeks of pregnancy before notifying commanders.

The policies follow a memo issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in October. The framework is aimed at easing the burden on troops seeking abortions or other reproductive care, but are stationed in states where the procedure is no longer legal after the Supreme Court overturned the federal protections of the Roe v. Wade precedent last year.

Hill GOP criticism: But the move drew swift pushback from leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, as Republicans on those panels will likely look to curtail the new policy. 

Tuberville followed through on the threat he made in December to jam up Pentagon nominees if the policy was implemented — and he has argued the move is political rather than related to readiness.

Tuberville said: “As I've stated, if Secretary Austin wants to change law, he should go through Congress. This is an illegal expansion of DOD authority and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars — and I will hold him accountable. The American people want a military focused on national defense, not facilitating a progressive political agenda.”

His hold on general and flag officers are especially inconvenient and could delay dozens, or even hundreds, of top promotions. 

The Senate usually clears military promotions in large batches with little opposition or fanfare, which Tuberville's objection would upend. It could also present concerns for quickly filling top four-star military posts as they open up through retirements.

Keep in mind: It's just the latest hurdle for civilian nominees who have been waiting months to get on the job.

Confirmations also largely came to a standstill last year as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) objected to quickly approving nominees in protest over President Biden's rapid pullout from Afghanistan.

But senators managed to confirm a handful of picks before the end of the session.

My 2 Cents: Sen. Tuberville (R-AL) is by any rational definition a complete flaming ass on this issue. 

His stance makes no sense and shows nothing but his arrogant spiteful ultra-rightwing conservative view on the issue of abortions, it makes no sense none whatsoever.  

Plus, I strongly believe that the senate rules which allow one Senator to put a hold on nominations like this or any other key government nomination must be repealed. 

No single person in the Senate, from either party, should have that power … the senate must change that crazy nonsensical rule.

Thanks for stopping by.