Headline Roundup • September 7th, 2023
Sen. Tuberville, Military Leaders Spar Over Pentagon Abortion Policy
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and military leadership continue to spar over Tuberville’s seven-month blockade of military promotions over his objections to the Pentagon’s abortion policies.
Tuberville: Tuberville is blocking unanimous consent votes in the Senate to confirm, in his own words published in the Washington Post (Lean Left bias), “only those at the very top — generals and flag officers. The people who actually fight are not affected at all,” in protest of a Department of Defense policy offering paid leave and reimbursement to service members traveling across state lines for abortions. Tuberville is pushing for the policy to either be removed or enshrined in law, stating, “If Democrats can’t pass legislation to authorize the abortion policy, then it shouldn’t be the policy.”
Military Leaders: The secretaries of the Navy, Air Force, and Army wrote an op-ed published in the Washington Post where they argued America's military advantage was being “actively eroded” by Tuberville’s actions. The abortion policy, according to the secretaries, is “critical and necessary to meet our obligations to the force. It is also fully within the law, as confirmed by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.” Additionally, the secretaries argue the block will have a long term impact on the military as potential future leaders are “watching this spectacle and might conclude that their service at the highest ranks of our military is no longer valued by members of Congress or, by extension, the American public.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is "aiding and abetting" autocratic and communist regimes with his continuing hold on military nominations, the Secretary of the Navy insisted on Tuesday.
Carlos Del Toro joined a panel on CNN’s "The Lead with Jake Tapper" alongside Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall where they discussed Tuberville’s refusal to release his hold in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policies.
Del Toro, who was born in Cuba, suggested that this action not only impacts morale in the military but empowers America’s enemies in "communist and other autocratic regimes."
...
AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Top defense officials are accusing Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville of jeopardizing America’s national security with his hold on roughly 300 military promotions, raising the stakes in a clash over abortion policy that shows no signs of easing.
Tuberville brushed off the criticism, vowing he will not give in. “We’re going to be in a holding pattern for a long time,” he said, if the Pentagon refuses to end its policy of paying for travel when a servicemember goes out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.
...
GETTY/Anna Moneymaker
Senator Tommy Tuberville has dismissed as "woke propaganda" the claims from senior military figures that he is undermining national security by blocking military promotions in protest against the Pentagon's policies on abortion.
On Tuesday, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro accused the Alabama Republican of "aiding and abetting communist and other autocratic regimes" during an appearance on CNN. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who was also on the broadcaster's panel, claimed potential U.S. adversaries are "paying attention" to the policy which is "affecting how they view the United States and our...
.png)
