Pentagon Urges Congress to ‘Resolve’ Lone Senator’s Blanket Hold on Military Promotions
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin is urging the U.S. Senate to “resolve” a current impasse that’s put an indefinite hold on top military promotions and nominations.
The Senate approves thousands of civilian and military nominations annually. The process is normally conducted through unanimous consent. But Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has blocked hundreds of promotions and nominations because he objects to the Pentagon’s new abortion policy, which, in part, allows for taxpayer-funded paid leave and reimbursements for service members who travel for an abortion.
Since February, Tuberville has led the hold in protest of the Pentagon’s wide support of abortions. He’s argued that federal funding should not cover abortion procedures except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. He’s received support from at least 21 Republican lawmakers in the Senate and House.
Democratic lawmakers said there are currently 196 military nominations pending in the Senate.
In a letter (pdf) on May 5, revealed on Wednesday, Austin responded to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who on April 7 requested “a full accounting of the impact on our national security and the risks to our military readiness” due to Tuberville’s hold.
The defense secretary said that the hold “harms America’s national security and hinders the Pentagon’s normal operations.”
He urged the Senate to “resolve the current situation as swiftly as possible” to limit the “serious consequences” due to the hold that he detailed in the letter.
“Never before has one Senator prevented the Department of Defense from managing its officer corps in this matter, and letting this hold continue would set a perilous precedent for our military, our security, and our country.”
Austin Details Impact on Military
The Pentagon currently has 64 three- and four-star nominations for top positions, Austin told Warren on May 5.
These positions will become empty “within the next 120 days.” They include the chief of staff of the Army, the chief of naval operations, the commandant and assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, the director of the National Security Agency, the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, and the commander of the U.S. Northern Command.
These top positions are limited by law, and so the incumbents “must vacate their positions at the appointed time and may only be extended under extraordinary circumstances,” he said.
“Put simply, our Service Chiefs train and equip the Joint Force. Without these leaders in place, the U.S. military will incur an unnecessary and unprecedented degree of risk at a moment when our adversaries may seek to test our resolve.”
The Pentagon projects that approximately “650 general and flag officers will require Senate confirmation” by the end of the year, Austin said.
“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 US military,” he wrote.
“This protracted hold means uncertainty for our service members and their families and rising disquiet from our allies and partners, at a moment when our competitors and adversaries are watching.”
Warren’s office on Wednesday said that Tuberville’s hold “poses a clear risk to military readiness and harms national security.”
“The Secretary of Defense has made clear in no uncertain terms that Senate Republicans are harming American national security by treating military families as political footballs. These U.S. servicemembers have earned their promotions, and if the Senator from Alabama continues this destabilizing and irresponsible inaction, Tuberville is knowingly endangering military readiness and putting our troops at risk,” Warren said in a statement.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday also indicated he does not support Tuberville’s hold on the military promotions and nominations.
“I don’t support putting a hold on military nominations, I don’t support that,” McConnell told reporters.
Support for Tuberville’s Hold
In April, at least 21 Republican lawmakers signaled support for Tuberville’s protest of the new Pentagon policy.
The policy was “implemented unilaterally by Secretary Austin without Congress holding a single hearing or taking a vote,” the lawmakers said in a letter to McConnell and Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on April 19.
The Pentagon memo (pdf), which was announced on Oct. 20, 2022, has turned the Department of Defense into an “abortion travel agency, directing the focus of our armed forces away from readiness and emerging threats and toward the president’s progressive social agenda,” the letter said.
Austin directed the memo’s creation, which outlines the policy that gives 21 days of paid leave for military members who want to get an abortion, or accompany a spouse or other dependent to get one. The policy also reimburses travel costs for people who can’t get an abortion locally due to state restrictions.
“The efforts taken by the Department today will not only ensure that service members and their families are afforded time and flexibility to make private health care decisions, but will also ensure service members are able to access non-covered reproductive health care regardless of where they are stationed,” a February news release from the Pentagon said.
In the memo, Austin said that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade has created “extraordinary hardship” for the military members, because those who choose to get an abortion have to travel further, take more time off work, and cop more out-of-pocket costs.
Austin also claimed that the high court’s decision interfered with the military’s ability to retain, recruit, and maintain the readiness of a qualified force.
Tuberville disagreed with Austin, saying on the Senate floor in late April that the Pentagon has “averaged less than 20 abortions per year for many, many years.”
“Does potentially restricting less than 20 procedures a year—sound like a threat to our military readiness? It does not.”
Tuberville added that U.S. taxpayers would instead be the ones paying for others’ travel costs for their abortions. “This isn’t about readiness, it’s about politics,” he said.
