Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) read the riot act to her Republican Senate colleague, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, for his continued hold on the promotions of all top officials in the U.S. military simply because he doesn’t agree with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) policy on abortion.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Warren noted that Tuberville had repeatedly obstructed military objectives because he’s opposed to a DOD provision that allows service members to travel to other states for an abortion.
“Occasionally, a senator may object to an individual nomination, usually to indicate opposition to that appointment or to insist on answers to questions from a federal agency,” Warren began. “But that is not what Senator from Alabama is doing.”
She added, “Instead, he is blocking every single top military leader from advancing indefinitely. He’s snared all 184 top-level service members who are currently slated for advancement, and he stopped every single one of them dead in their tracks.”
After pointing out that since Tuberville sits on the Armed Services Committee, he has numerous chances to influence DOD policy, Warren thundered:
“The senator is blocking 184 top military promotions because he disagrees with the Department of Defense policy to help service members and their families access needed health care, specifically to travel to access abortion care. Now, I disagree with the senator on that issue, but if he wants to press for votes to reverse DOD’s health care policies, he can do that.”
“That is how democracy works.”
Tuberville responded by trying to blame Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin instead of his own intransigence.
“It’s not about abortion,” he asserted. “This is about a tyrannical executive branch walking all over the United States Senate and doing our jobs.”
“Now I warned Secretary [Lloyd] Austin that if he did this and changed this, I would put a hold on his highest-level nominees. Secretary Austin went through with the policy anyway in February of this year. So I am keeping my word. This was Secretary Austin’s choice, not mine.”
Hey, just because someone agrees to serve their country and put their life on the line, the military should refuse them access to a medical procedure? That’s an insult to what the brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces do for all of us on a daily basis.
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