Tommy Tuberville Controversy: GOP Senators Push Back Against Republican's Military Blockade

Several GOP senators have joined forces in an attempt to push back against Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's attempts to block military promotions over the Pentagon's abortion policy.

The lawmakers moving against Tuberville include Dan Sullivan, Joni Ernst, Lindsey Graham, Todd Young, and Mitt Romney. They spent Wednesday night trying to pass 115 top military nominees delayed by the Alabama senator.

Tommy Tuberville's Military Holds

Tommy Tuberville Controversy: GOP Senators Push Back Against Republican's Military Blockade

(Photo : Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is facing criticism from fellow GOP senators for his military hold over the Pentagon's abortion policy.

The Republicans, over the course of four hours, read out nominees' resumes and argued that Tuberville's freeze harms military readiness, punish the officers who are not responsible for the Pentagon's policy, and sets a dangerous precedent in the U.S. Senate.

Sullivan said that generals and admirals who are being held up by Tuberville should be patient because they have their support. The lawmaker said that he and his colleagues will come back every night to try and get them confirmed.

On Wednesday, Sullivan said that Tuberville's actions are "hugely disruptive to readiness" amid a time of dangerous global relations. The lawmaker noted that the U.S. needs to have its best players and most combat-capable leaders on the field, as per CNN.

Tuberville's actions have been holding up military promotions since February because of a particular Department of Defense policy. It reimburses travel costs for members of the military who require reproductive care outside of the state where they are stationed.

The department enacted the controversial policy after the Supreme Court ordered the reversal of Roe v. Wade last year and overturned the constitutional right to an abortion. The ruling left the issue to individual states to decide.

The Alaska senator described himself as "pro-life as they come'' and added that he strongly disagrees with the Pentagon's policy. However, he noted that he instead pushed for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the nominees up individually.

Sullivan said that the claim that some of the officers were supposedly work or desk jockeys was "ridiculous." He called Tuberville's holdup a "national security suicide mission." On Wednesday, the group of Republicans called 61 nominees by name to extoll their qualifications and ask for consent to vote to confirm them, according to Politico.

Pentagon's Abortion Policy

However, Tuberville refused to back down and said that the Pentagon must repeal its policy before he drops his hold. He also rebuffed arguments from his GOP colleagues that he is hurting military readiness amid several crises. These include Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war against the Hamas militant group.

In a statement, Tuberville said that he disagrees with his colleagues, saying that his hold does not affect readiness. In response, Sullivan said that the Alabama senator was "100 percent wrong" in his assumption that his actions were completely without consequence.

Despite the military holds, Tuberville is trying to force a vote this week to confirm the Marine Corps' second-in-command. This comes after the service branch's commandant, Gen. Eric Smith, was hospitalized due to a medical emergency on Sunday.

Tuberville said that the military leader's unexpected health issues have caused him to reconsider his hold on the nomination of Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney to be the Marine Corps assistant commandant, said NBC News.