Warren’s attempt to end Tuberville’s abortion standoff with Pentagon fails
Samantha-Jo Roth
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made several different motions for unanimous consent to confirm military promotions in the Senate that have been stalled, but they were blocked by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday over his objection to the Defense Department’s abortion policy.
Warren slammed Tuberville for blocking the promotions of 184 senior military officers at the Pentagon. Tuberville took up the effort to protest the Pentagon’s policy of paying for the travel expenses of a service member or spouse who must go out of state for an abortion due to local laws. The rule was put into place in response to the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade last year.
WARREN WILL ATTEMPT TO END TUBERVILLE’S BLOCKADE OF MILITARY PROMOTIONS
“Why is one senator punishing 184 dedicated men and women who serve in our military? All because he personally disagrees with a single policy decision from the Pentagon,” Warren said on the Senate floor, noting that she also opposes lots of Pentagon policy decisions.
However, Tuberville made it clear he will not acquiesce and continually blocked Warren’s request for unanimous consent to confirm the promotion of military nominees.
“This is not about abortion, this is about a tyrannical executive branch walking all over the United States Senate and doing our jobs,” Tuberville said in response to Warren on the Senate floor. “I’m not going to budge. I will come down here as many times as it takes day to night to vote. I’m not afraid to vote.”
“I am keeping my word. This is Secretary Austin’s choice, not mine. He knew the consequences for months,” Tuberville added.
A lively debate ensued on the Senate floor over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Warren attempted to make the argument that the prohibition on federal funds for abortion doesn’t mean the Department of Defense is not able to reimburse travel expenses. Tuberville responded by emphasizing the Pentagon policy would “facilitate” abortions in a way that violates existing law.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) also came to the floor to urge Senate Republicans to approve the military promotions and to commend Sen. Warren’s efforts.
“I think what’s happening on the floor of the Senate is not only dangerous, but it’s insulting. That is the only word that can be used for one senator to hold up 184 men and women and their promotions in the military,” Durbin said. “I never thought I’d see that day in the United States Senate. Whatever the reason, it’s time to bring this charade to an end.”
The Pentagon promotions that require Senate confirmation are typically approved in batches, usually without objection, to avoid a severely prolonged process. While Tuberville lacks the power permanently to block the nominees, he has been able to delay their confirmations significantly. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) could opt to clear all the nominations on the Senate floor, but that would be a long and labor-intensive process.
Warren, the chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Personnel, expressed concern for the national security implications of the blockade.
“Holding up the promotion of every single military nominee isn’t democracy, it’s extortion. That kind of extortion has serious consequences for our national defense,” Warren said. “These holds pose a grave threat to our national security and to our military readiness. They actively hurt our ability to respond quickly to threats around the world.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) also came to Tuberville’s aid and objected to Warren’s motions for unanimous consent, and argued he doesn’t believe the Alabama senator’s holds on military promotions are impacting readiness.
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“I agree with my colleague from Alabama, I haven’t seen anything indicating that military readiness commands this, much less commands it in a way that justifies departing from the spirit, if not the letter of federal law,” Lee said.
Warren attempted to group nearly all 200 of the senior-level military promotions into one unanimous-consent motion, but that attempt was unsuccessful and was continually blocked by Senate Republicans.