Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaskan Republican, was joined in the chamber on Wednesday night by fellow Republicans Joni Ernst of Iowa, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Todd Young of Indiana, and Mitt Romney of Utah in an effort to approve 115 high-profile military nominations that had been postponed due to a disagreement over Pentagon abortion policy with fellow Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville.
These Republican senators read out the resumes of the nominees for over four hours, arguing that Tuberville’s hold jeopardizes military readiness, punishes officers who are not in charge of the Pentagon’s policy, and creates a risky precedent in the US Senate. As a result, the Alabama Republican was forced to object to each of the 61 nominations.
“Hang in there, our generals and admirals who are being held up,” is my message to them. We’ve got some of you covered. We’ve got you covered. We’re going to try to get you guys confirmed every night,” he continued.
Prior to Wednesday night, Sullivan contended that Tuberville’s holds are “hugely disruptive to readiness” at a risky juncture in international relations.
“As a US Marine Corps colonel and member of the Armed Services Committee, I am aware—as are all of us in the Senate—that America must have its top players—its most combat-ready leaders—on the field. And that isn’t occurring at the moment. It must alter, according to Sullivan.
Because of a Department of Defense policy that reimburses travel expenses for service members who require reproductive care outside of their state of station, Tuberville has been preventing military promotions since February. After Roe v. Wade was overruled last year, leaving each states to decide whether to allow abortions, the agency implemented the policy.
As “pro-life as they come,” Sullivan said on Wednesday. He also said, “I strongly disagree,” with Pentagon policy. Sullivan has been pressuring Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring up each nominee one at a time.
“However, I also genuinely feel that one of our most fundamental, fundamental beliefs as Republicans—which, I believe, sets us apart from our opponents in many respects—is our serious focus on national security, readiness, a powerful military, and providing for our soldiers and their families,” he continued.
He refuted Tuberville’s claim that some of the top nominees are leftist and that they are not as important for preparedness.
“It’s absurd to think that some of these officers are desk jockeys or supposedly ‘woke,'” Sullivan said.
“We are currently working on a compromise; I’ve worked closely with Sen. Tuberville for months, always defending his holds,” he continued. “But the world is dangerous, and we haven’t made any progress.”
According to Tuberville, he is not compromising preparedness.
“I must politely disagree with my colleagues regarding the impact of my hold on preparedness. “My hold is not affecting readiness,” Tuberville declared, adding that he would keep it in place “until the Democrats change the law or the Pentagon follows the law.”
Graham challenged Tuberville’s assertion.
“This is seriously harming our armed forces, Senator Tuberville, whether you believe it or not.”
Senators retaliated against Tuberville’s strategies as well, claiming that these military nominees have no authority over the Pentagon’s reproductive healthcare policy.
When Graham asked that a number of the nominees be confirmed, he also said, “Why would you punish them for something they have nothing to do with?”
According to Tuberville, his strategies are appropriate. “Democrats believe that abortion is more important than the nomination and our military every day this goes on,” he declared. “I agree that these are really, really important jobs, and I support many of these nominees.” However, we had the entire nine months to vote on these nominees.
Ernst, who herself served in the military in the past, stated that she is “proudly, adamantly, and unabashedly pro-life.” She also mentioned that she comes from a military family. But she also asked Tuberville to release his grips.
“We have made every effort to comply with a fellow senator’s request that each of these nominations be put to a vote separately on the floor. Furthermore, I have a great deal of respect for men who keep their word. She declared, “I do not respect men who break their word,” and added that all of the candidates “have been denied an opportunity to move forward.”
As a result of “their careers being punished over a policy dispute they had nothing to do with and no power to resolve,” according to Sullivan, “there is growing bitterness within the military.”
Young demanded that Tuberville release his hold, citing the hostilities in Taiwan, Israel, and the Ukraine. Young declared, “We need a security establishment that is fully staffed, fully competent, fully engaged, and focused.”
“I firmly, passionately, and unabashedly support life in both thought and action. I have a spotless reputation, and that much is clear,” Young continued. It simply doesn’t make sense to me to hold 300 nominated patriots who should be pinning on stars or another star right now, hold them professionally accountable for this, and consequently jeopardize the safety and security of the American people at this dangerous time.
Long-term, blanket holds, according to some senators, set a bad precedent in the Senate that would worsen gridlock and politicize the armed forces.
“Any administration that this body finds objectionable could find something to complain about, and what we’re going to do is open a Pandora’s box,” Graham said.
Tuberville’s position was described by Romney as “an abuse of the powers we have as senators.”
“In addition to the men and women who are being held back, whose careers, prospects, families, and plans are being disrupted by virtue of the decision of, in this case, two people, one of whom is Secretary Austin and the other is Senator Tuberville, to take intractable positions, I rise out of great concern for our military, for its readiness at a time of great peril,” Romney said. “And to say that we will use our power as senators to hold up the promotion of over 350 men and women in our military if there is something we vehemently disagree with is, in my opinion, a simple abuse of that power.”
