U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Auburn) national security advisor has reportedly resigned over allegations that he played a key role in holding up over 200 senior military nominations due to the Department of Defense's abortion policy.
Politico reported Wednesday that Morgan Murphy had stepped away from the Tuberville team "out of respect" for the Senator after a profile by The Washington Post pegged Murphy as being instrumental in the promotions hold.
Murphy told Politico the profile "was factual in many respects, but simply overstated my role in decisionmaking."
"He [Tuberville] is the boss and calls the shots and always has," Murphy said. "I am, was, at the end of the day, a staffer. I didn't take kindly to a perception otherwise."
Tuberville was also allegedly upset at the implication that Murphy led the effort behind the scenes.
Murphy said, "It is my responsibility as a staffer to present the senator with his range of options, which went from sending a letter to offering a meeting to introducing an amendment or to placing holds."
Despite prodding from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Tuberville shows no sign of reversing his actions, which he said align with current U.S. law.
"If Democrats want me to drop my hold, then the answer is very simple," Tuberville said in a recent op-ed in The Washington Times. "I have laid out two conditions for me to allow batch approvals of promotions and nominees: either follow the law or change the law."
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