On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) blocked the ninth attempt by Senate Democrats to break his hold on military promotions over the Department of Defense’s abortion policy.
Tuberville first placed the hold in February on over 200 DoD general and flag officer nominations over the department’s new policy of funding travel and paid time off for service members and their dependents seeking an elective abortion. He said he intends to keep his hold until “the Pentagon follows the law.”
With the hold in place, promotions must be processed individually instead of in large groups.
“This is the ninth time that Democrats have come to the floor to try to break my hold on the Department of Defense’s nominees. This is the ninth time that I’ve come to the floor to keep my word,” Tuberville said from the Senate floor. “Since the last time we did this, nothing has changed. And so, my hold will remain in place.”
"Yesterday, the White House Press Secretary was asked why they haven't reached out to me at all," Tuberville continued. "She said, 'I do not know when the last time is they talked to the senator.' I'll tell you when the last time was — never. The White House has not reached out once in four months. No one has contacted me, there has not been one conversation no path forward. I have spoken to Secretary Austin, outside of Armed Services hearings, exactly once in the last two years. That was a 10-minute phone call — three months ago. He made absolutely no effort to find a compromise in our situation."
Tuberville said the criticism and "false claims" made about him by Democrats only strengthen his resolve.
"Many of the claims made about me have been completely false. Many of them. This is no way to negotiate with a colleague — especially in this body, the United States Senate," he said. "Frankly, this kind of behavior from the Democrats just steels my resolve. The more false claims the Democrats make about me, the more inclined I am to keep the holds in place."
SEE ALSO: Tuberville targeted? New Hampshire man charged with threatening to kill a U.S. Senator over 'blocking military promotions' — 'You're a dead man walking you piece of f———ing s——t'
Tuberville noted that even though certain positions are on hold, the jobs are being done and military readiness, maintained.
"But I would note that just yesterday a news story reported correctly that these military positions are being fulfilled by acting officials," he said. "These jobs are being done right now. They're not empty. Four months into this situation, that is obvious that people are doing the job. It is not affecting readiness. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong."
He concluded: "I will keep my hold until the Pentagon follows the law [or] Congress changes the law. That's the way we do it here in the Senate. A 'show vote' in committee is not good enough. We can do that all we want. It's not going to make any difference. An amendment that gets stripped out on the floor by Senator Schumer is not good enough. What I have said from the beginning: either follow the law or change it. Follow the law that we have made in this body, or change the law."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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