There’s a Republican Senator from Alabama who disagrees with the military’s policy on abortion, effectively blocking military leadership. He has blocked the nomination of every single general and admiral in the military.
That means the entire top leadership of the United States military is frozen. If there’s a vacancy, it stays vacant. There have been 250 nominations blocked in 2023, and if he keeps it up, by the end of 2023, there will be 650.
He can do this because the Senate confirms any new general or admiral moving up into a new position. But if one senator objects, that process grinds to a halt, and it’s very hard to work around it. The Republican Senator sees that as leverage, and he’s using it.
This has become more serious. The head of the Marines retired, and the Republican Senator blocked the person who was supposed to replace him, so now the Marines don’t have a confirmed leader for the first time in 100 years.
Why The Republican Senator Is Doing This
He’s doing this because after Roe v. Wade was overturned, the military was worried it would affect the recruitment of women who could be stationed in states that don’t allow abortion. So they put in place a travel policy to accommodate service members if they needed to travel to get an abortion or other reproductive healthcare that the military doesn’t offer.
The military wasn’t trying to be pro-abortion. It was trying to be pro-recruitment. Several members of Congress who strongly oppose abortion also oppose holding up these nominations for protesting purposes. The whole Republican Party is not doing this, just one Republican Senator.
Being in Congress is a whole lot, and not being able to get what you want, even when you feel really strongly about it. You learn that how you conduct yourself in that moment matters. Because everyone in Congress has been there, and they’re all watching.
Does this person try to build more support for their position, or do they pitch a huge fit that does collateral damage and pushes people away? One thing about the military is that hopeless strategies produce disastrous results.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs is retiring soon. After that is the head of the army, half of our Joint Chiefs will be vacant within the next few months. Add to that several hundred other senior leaders who aren’t in place, and there could be a disaster. We have leaders for a reason.
The American Message
Here’s a video that the Lincoln Project came out with in response to this situation. This should not only be the democratic message but all of America’s message to this one Republican Senator.
Text from the video:
For 248 years the United States Marine Corps has valiantly defended this country against foreign enemies.
The Marine Corps’ legendary courage, determination and skill on the battlefield leaves our enemies in fear and our allies in awe.
Marines of every race, creed and color have sworn a sacred oath to protect our Constitution. They fought, led and died for this country. Today the Marine Corps faces a domestic enemy.
A small man with a big mouth determined to destroy the Corps for his petty political agenda. Tommy Tuberville is creating a national security nightmare.
Who wins from Tuberville’s attack on the Marine Corps? China. ISIS. Vladimir Putin.
Tommy Tuberville insults every Marine who ever served and he puts the men and women of the Marine Corps on the line in danger.
Every US Marine is a patriot. Tommy Tuberville is a traitor.