Feud between Tuberville and Defense Department over abortion policy continues
Mike Brest
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The feud between Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and the Department of Defense over its abortion policies is far from over, with neither side looking like they’ll back down anytime soon.
Tuberville began blocking all civilian, flag, and general officer nominations as well as high-level promotions within the Pentagon in February due to a new Pentagon policy paying for the travel expenses of a service member or spouse who has to go out of state to obtain an abortion due to local laws. The policy was in response to the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year.
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The former football coach-turned-senator is barring the Senate from advancing 196 Department of Defense military nominees, and the Pentagon projects approximately 650 general and flag officers will require Senate confirmation between now and the end of the year.
Tuberville believes the policy violates the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions, though the Department of Justice “conclude[d] that DoD may lawfully expend funds for this purpose under its express statutory authorities and, independently, under the necessary expense doctrine.”
“This is not about abortion. We’ve had abortions for years in the military,” Tuberville said this week in an interview with radio station WBHM. “We have a law in this country called the Hyde Amendment that says taxpayer money will not be used for abortions because some people believe in it, some people don’t. Again, this is a change in the policy from the White House.”
“So, let’s remember what I am asking for. I am asking for the Pentagon to drop a policy that is illegal. I’m asking Secretary [Lloyd] Austin to do his job and follow the law,” he said on the Senate floor this week.
The latest development took place on Wednesday when Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) asked for unanimous consent to move forward with the nominations and Tuberville rejected it, standing alongside Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS). He does not have the support of all of his Republican colleagues. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Wednesday, “I don’t support putting a hold on military nominations. I don’t support that.”
Defense officials stand by the policy and accuse Tuberville of antics that hurt military readiness.
“From a readiness standpoint, these are flag officers, so they’re in charge of complex organizations. And this is unsettling for the institution,” Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Thursday. “It will have, over time, I think a significant degradation in readiness, in capability, [and] morale. And I think the impact is pretty significant on that whole.”
“I think holding up commissioned officers’ confirmations on anything other than their own personal talent and skills further politicizes the military, and if the intent is not politicized the military, I think it has the opposite effect,” he added. “It drags the uniformed military right in the middle of a political argument.”
Milley is set to retire at the end of the fiscal year, and his replacement, reportedly Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., will require Senate confirmation.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the ramifications of the hold in a letter sent to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) earlier this week in which he said, “The ripple effects of this unprecedented and unnecessary hold are increasingly troubling. Ultimately, the breakdown of the normal flow of leadership across the Department’s carefully cultivated promotion and transition system will breed uncertainty and confusion across the U.S. military.”
Approximately 40% of women in the military do not have or have limited access to abortion services where they live or are stationed currently, according to a Rand study published in September 2022. Women make up slightly less than a fifth of the military, while roughly 80,000 of them serve in states that have implemented or will soon implement additional abortion restrictions.
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“I think it’s critical that they be assured that they’ll have access. I want them focused on the mission and not worried about whether or not they’re gonna have access to reproductive healthcare,” Austin said during the hearing with Milley on Thursday.
Senate Democrats could file cloture and go through procedural hurdles on each promotion to get around Tuberville’s hold, but that would take several weeks.