Biden Hits Senator’s Hold on Military Nominations Over DoD Abortion Policy
On Monday, President Joe Biden took aim directly at Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville who was holding back 200 Pentagon nominees because of a Defense Department policy on abortion.
It’s bizarre. Biden, who has been around for a long time, said that he had never seen anything like it before.
Tuberville is a former Alabama football coach who began blocking the confirmation of senior Pentagon positions in March. He was protesting a Defense Department Policy enacted last summer that provided paid leave for military personnel traveling to obtain an abortion and reimbursed costs.
The Alabama Senator has referred to the policy as a violation of Hyde Amendment which prohibits the use of federal taxpayer funds for abortive services.
Six military bases are located in his home state. The laws prohibit abortions in all cases, including rape and incest.
Tuberville has defended his four-month campaign by saying that the Pentagon’s policy is an attempt to bypass Congress and let the Department do its own legislation.
Tuberville, who spoke to the Washington Examiner in regards to the Pentagon’s stance, said: “It is an illegal policy.” “They changed it. They can’t do that, so let’s get back to the original policies.” “If they want to make changes, we should do it in Congress.”
The White House condemned the legislator earlier this month. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, called his actions “shameful”, and accused him to endangering national safety.
Jean-Pierre claimed that the senators’ blockade of the nominees hurt military families, and put “our military readiness at risk by denying our armed forces leadership.”
The Alabama senator has blocked what would normally be a quick process for confirming Pentagon nominees. If he persists in his refusal to back down, the U.S. Senate will have to take a much longer time to review each candidate.
In May, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the blockage is a threat to national security. He called the block “irresponsible.”
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