Republicans attack Tommy Tuberville

Sen. Tommy Tuberville faced heavy criticism from his fellow Republicans on Wednesday for his continued blocking of nearly 400 military promotions, with Lindsey Graham accusing him of causing “great damage to our military” in the Senate .

Republicans sought to confirm 61 military nominees, in a move led by Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, but Tuberville opposed all of them, preventing their approval.

Tuberville has spent months blocking hundreds of senior military promotions, which typically receive unanimous Senate approval, to protest the Pentagon’s policy of paying expenses for service members who travel for abortions.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Sullivan said, “I want the American people to know that right now there are 376 promotions of one-, two-, three- and four-star generals and admirals in progress. It is estimated that by the end of this year, 89 percent of all general officer positions in the U.S. military will be affected by Senator Tuberville’s current suspensions… This is extremely disruptive to readiness.”

He added: “By the way, Xi Jinping is looking at this right now and saying, ‘I can’t believe they’re not letting these guys be in command, I’m afraid of submarines. He loves it, so does Putin. They love it.” how stupid can we be, man? »

A similar argument was made by Graham who held up a photo of a two-star general whose nomination for deputy commander of the Air Force is blocked.

Turning to Tuberville, he said: “You just denied this lady a promotion, you did that. We are all ready to promote it because it deserves to be promoted. It has nothing to do with this (abortion) policy. Let me tell you Again, everyone in this body could find a problem with any administration that they disagree with and what we’re going to do is open Pandora’s box. »

Graham warned that military personnel could eventually leave the service, commenting, “Whether you believe it or not, Senator Tuberville, this is causing great damage to our military.” I don’t say this lightly, I have tried to work with you. nine months, friends, if this continues, people will leave.”

Tuberville continued to insist that his blockades do not harm the U.S. military, commenting: “I must respectfully disagree with my colleagues on the effect of my hold on readiness. My hold n ‘does not affect readiness.’

The Republican pushback against Tuberville was welcomed by Democrats, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer telling reporters, “Patience is running out with Senator Tuberville on both sides of the aisle. »

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However, Tuberville found an ally in House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on Senator Tuberville is a national treasure! “

On Wednesday, 23 House Republicans voted to table Greene’s censure resolution against Rep. Tlaib, effectively blocking it. Greene herself faces a censure resolution from Rep. Becca Balint who accused the Georgia Republican of “repeatedly fanning the flames of racism, anti-Semitism, hate speech against the LGBTQ community, Islamophobia, Asian hatred, xenophobia and other forms of hatred.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wadewhich had ruled that access to abortion was a constitutional right, the Department of Defense announced that it would reimburse the costs of service members traveling to obtain abortions, arguing that this was necessary to maintain morale.

News week contacted Tuberville for comment by phone and voicemail.