Senator Tommy Tuberville came under intense criticism from his fellow Republicans on Wednesday over his continued blockage of nearly 400 military promotions, with Lindsey Graham accusing him of doing “great damage to our military” on the Senate floor.
Republicans sought to confirm 61 military nominees, as part of a move led by Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, but each was objected to by Tuberville, preventing their approval.
Tuberville has spent months holding up hundreds of senior military promotions, which typically receive unanimous approval from the Senate floor, to protest the Pentagon’s policy of paying expenses for servicemembers who travel for an abortion.
Speaking in the Senate, Sullivan commented: “I want the American people to know right now 376 promotions to one, two, three and four star generals and admirals are being held. It is estimated that by the end of this year 89 percent of all general officer positions in the United States military will be affected by the current holds from Senator Tuberville…This is hugely disruptive to readiness.”
He added: “By the way Xi Jinping is watching this right now going ‘I can’t believe they’re not letting these guys command, I’m scared to death of subs. He’s loving this, so’s Putin. They’re loving it, how dumb can we be man?”
A similar point was made by Graham who held up a picture of a two-star general whose nomination to be a deputy commander in the Air Force is being blocked.
Turning to Tuberville, he said: “You just denied this lady a promotion, you did that. All of us are ready to promote her because she deserves to be promoted. She had nothing to do with this [abortion] policy. Let me say it again, everybody in this body could find an issue with any administration they don’t agree with and what we’re going to do is open up Pandora’s box.”
Graham warned military personnel could end up leaving the service, commenting: “No matter whether you believe it or not Senator Tuberville this is doing great damage to our military. I don’t say that lightly, I’ve been trying to work with you nine months, folks if this keeps going people are going to leave.”
Tuberville continued to insist his blockages are not undermining the U.S. military, commenting: “I have to respectfully disagree with my colleagues about the effect of my hold on readiness. My hold is not affecting readiness.”
The Republican backlash against Tuberville was welcomed by Democrats, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer telling reporters: “Patience is wearing thin with Senator Tuberville on both sides of the aisle.”
On X, formerly Twitter, Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar wrote: “Finally it isn’t just Democrats publicly calling for Tuberville to lift the military holds. Enough is enough Tuberville.”
Anna Moneymaker/GETTY
However, Tuberville did find an ally in House Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on X: “I wish I had 23 Republicans like Tommy Tubervilles in the House tonight who would have censured terrorist lover Rashida Tlaib. Senator Tuberville is a national treasure!”
On Wednesday, 23 House Republicans voted to table Greene’s resolution of censure against Representative Tlaib, thus blocking it. Greene herself is facing a censure resolution from Representative Becca Balint who accused the Georgia Republican of “repeatedly fanned the flames of racism, antisemitism, hate speech against the LGBTQ community, Islamophobia, Asian hate, xenophobia and other forms of hatred.”
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which had ruled abortion access was a constitutional right, the Department of Defense announced it would reimburse the expenses of servicemembers traveling to have an abortion, arguing this was needed to maintain moral.
Newsweek has contacted Tuberville for comment by telephone and voicemail message.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.