Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., was unwavering in his commitment to continue holding up military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy, telling Newsmax that he plans to maintain these holds “for a long, long time.”
Tuberville also refuted claims that his holds negatively impact military readiness.
“I’ve been speaking with generals and admirals every day,” Tuberville stated on “Greg Kelly Reports.” “There is no issue with readiness. … I have the prerogative to put a hold on anything.”
“And so, I have not changed my mind. I am doing this for the right reasons,” Tuberville added. “I am tired of President Joe Biden legislating from the White House. They will not do that while I am here. The people of Alabama have someone who will vote for them. And if we are going to have a different abortion policy in the military, it will require a vote on the Senate floor. And if that does not happen, I will continue these holds for a long, long time.”
The issue at hand is the Pentagon providing 3 weeks of administration absence, travel allowance, and transportation allowance for individuals seeking an abortion.
In addition to changing a policy that seemingly promotes abortions, as Kelly pointed out, Tuberville directly asked if anyone had complained about the previous abortion policy.
“They brought in these experts to explain why they needed to do this,” Tuberville said. “They claimed it was for readiness and recruiting, which is not true. I asked if anyone had complained about it in the last 35 years. They said no. I said, ‘Well, that’s strange. Why would you change something nobody is complaining about?’
“And so, 60% of the American people believe that we should not spend taxpayer money on abortion. This includes Democrats and Republicans,” Tuberville said. “So, I am fighting for both sides here.
“Again, if my actions were negatively impacting the United States military, which I respect and support, I would not be doing this. But it is not negatively impacting it. … There is no way they will convince me otherwise.”
In fact, Tuberville argued that military readiness is more affected by woke policies in the military than his holds.
“The issue I am currently facing is that we are becoming more woke every day, and it started under Obama,” he said. “It is disheartening to witness this. Let me tell you, if we lose the support of our military, we are in serious trouble, and we are heading in that direction because the problem with readiness stems from all these woke policies they are pushing.
“Our military is not an equal opportunity employer. We want the best pilots, generals, admirals, and individuals who believe in this country and will fight for it until the end.”
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture, and politics.
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