Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with its Dobbs v. Jackson decision last year, the Biden administration has amplified its pro-abortion agenda. This has extended to the already problematic woke military. Servicemembers and their dependents receive paid time off for abortions, with travel expenses paid for if the abortion takes place out-of-state. Townhall learned months ago that there is no gestational limit on these abortions. Such policy is in violation of 10 U.S.C.1093, which is why Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has been holding up military nominees and promotions rather than letting them sail through by unanimous consent.
Last week, as Townhall covered, there was a major breakthrough in such holds. As Tuberville has reminded from the start, Democrats control the chamber, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) can call for votes any time. Schumer did just that, at Tuberville's behest, in order to confirm Charles "C.Q." Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Randy George to become chief of staff of the Army, and Gen. Eric Smith to become the next commandant of the Marine Corps.
The votes and subsequent confirmations amounted to a breaking news update, which the mainstream media did cover. Nevertheless, many outlets could not help themselves from pushing a narrative that is decidedly wrong. Some outlets have been running with claims that Tuberville is blocking the nominees and promotions, even though Schumer can and has finally called votes. Others say it's one member doing this, even though Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a vocal supporter of Tuberville, has objected to unanimous consent as well. Another narrative is that these holds are unprecedented, even though Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), among those lambasting Tuberville, issued a hold in July 2020.
Some outlets are framing this update as Tuberville backing down, another point worth correcting.
In a post from last Wednesday, Tuberville revealed he had called for Schumer to hold a vote, which was indeed granted. Before that, he had a cloture petition circulating, which was signed by 16 Republican senators on Tuesday.
I demanded a vote on this nomination. And Chuck Schumer just gave it to me.
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) September 20, 2023
Let’s go vote. pic.twitter.com/x5hd4vWg8o
Nevertheless, many outlets framed the vote as Schumer's idea, which could not be further from the truth, especially since Schumer could have called for votes all along.
The New York Times on September 20 published "Senate Confirms Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sidestepping Tuberville Blockade," which doesn't mention the cloture petition until paragraph 14 out of 20. There's also this problematic paragraph early on in the report:
The Democratic majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, worked around Mr. Tuberville’s roadblock by bringing up each individual nomination for a full Senate vote. But hundreds more promotions remain in limbo over objections by Mr. Tuberville.
There are plenty of problematic headlines from that same day when the votes took place. As of Monday afternoon, they're still up. The Washington Post published, "Senate confirms Joint Chiefs chair in respite from Tuberville blockade."
Military.com got it wrong as well, with the headline, "Democrats Circumvent Tuberville as Senate Moves to Finally Confirm Leaders of Army, Marine Corps, Joint Chiefs," even though Tuberville was the one who told them to call the vote. The San Antonio Express-News headline was even worse, "Democrats force vote on San Antonio native as Joint Chiefs chairman after senator's blockade."
There was also misleading by omission. The Associated Press came close but missed the mark by failing to mention Tuberville called for the vote:
Tuberville has been blocking the Senate from the routine process of approving military nominations in groups, frustrating Democrats who had said they would not go through the time-consuming process of bringing up individual nominations for a vote. More than 300 nominees are still stalled amid Tuberville’s blockade, and confirming them one-by-one would take months.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reversed course on Wednesday and moved to force votes on Brown, George and Smith.
“Senator Tuberville is forcing us to face his obstruction head on,” Schumer said. “I want to make clear to my Republican colleagues — this cannot continue.”
Tuberville did not object to the confirmation votes, saying he will maintain his holds but is fine with bringing up nominations individually for roll call votes.
...
In an effort to force Tuberville’s hand, Democrats had said they would not bring up the most senior nominees while the others were still stalled. “There’s an old saying in the military, leave no one behind,” Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed said in July.
But in a frustrated speech on the Senate floor, Schumer said Wednesday he was left with no other choice.
“Senator Tuberville is using them as pawns,” Schumer said of the nominees.
"Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, used a procedural maneuver to sidestep a blockade by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville," is how the Denver Gazette similarly covered the votes that took place last Wednesday.
Many outlets not only referred to a "blockade" but did so using problematic phrasing. The Washington Examiner, for instance, reported on September 21, "Senate confirms new Army chief, bypassing Tuberville blockade," even though the Senate did so via a vote Tuberville called for.
The Stars and Stripes claimed, "Senate moves to confirm Army chief of staff and Marine Corps commandant, bypassing Tuberville promotion block." Task and Purpose similarly went with the headline, "Senate bypasses Tuberville on Joint Chief nominations for Brown, George." Then there's USA Today, which claimed, "Senate confirms top military officer, bypassing Tommy Tuberville's abortion protest."
NY1 put out a headline claiming, "Senate confirms three top military leaders, flouting Tuberville's blockade," which is especially a doozy. The definition of "flout" is to "openly disregard," yet, again, this was a vote that Tuberville called for.
In the past, Townhall coverage has mentioned how The Hill has had some problematic reporting. This includes two headlines from last week, "Despite break in Tuberville's dam, Senate faces long fight ahead" and "Senate works around Tuberville to confirm three top military officials."
When it comes to once more reminding that Schumer could have called these votes, an article from Defense One posted to AL.com had a particularly embarrassing lede. In an article from September 21 that accurately noted, "Tuberville says 'hold is still in place' as 3 nominees advance: 316 military nominations still held up," the opening paragraph is still problematic:
In the seven months since Sen. Tommy Tuberville declared he would not permit the Senate to hold confirmation votes on groups of senior military officers, he has frequently pointed out that Democratic leaders could bring nominations to the floor one by one. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has refused, noting that there is no practical way to stage individual votes for the hundreds of officers whom Tuberville is keeping from their next jobs.
It wasn't "confirmation votes" that Tuberville objected to; he actually called for them. Rather, he would not allow for such nominations and promotions to take place by unanimous consent. The paragraph does, however, at least highlight Schumer's stubbornness and inefficiency.
As the piece went on to claim:
On Wednesday, Schumer reversed course and said the Senate would hold votes on the three military leaders. “Senator Tuberville is forcing us to face his obstruction head on,” Schumer said.
The blockade has frustrated members on both sides of the aisle, and it is still unclear how the larger standoff will be resolved. Schumer did not say if he would put additional nominations on the floor.
The piece is decidedly one-sided in that it refers only to the criticism Tuberville has received despite overwhelming support from many of his fellow senators, members of the House, grassroots leaders, and over 5,000 veterans.
Further, Tuberville has made it abundantly clear that he is not letting up on his holds. The Pentagon's illegal abortion policy is still in place.
"I came here to this chamber to vote. And I reserve the right to seek another cloture position on the nominees in the future." https://t.co/aHyD6n19NE
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) September 20, 2023
Thus, any headline referring to an end to any blockade would be incorrect. Tuberville has not backed down from his holds. The person who was "bluffing" would be Schumer, as Tuberville's pinned post reminds.
One of us was bluffing. It wasn't me.
— Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) September 20, 2023
Democrats are taking the same action they could've taken months ago. As long as the Pentagon keeps the unlawful elective abortion policy in place, my holds will remain. https://t.co/f497iygBDd
The Washington Times reported, "Schumer moves to stop Tuberville's blockade of military nominees," but Schumer was merely holding a vote that Tuberville called for.
Bloomberg Law reported, "Senate Confirms Army Chief in Hiatus From Tuberville Blockade," which is a problematic headline in many ways. Again, Tuberville called for that vote, but his hold on letting promotions sail through via unanimous consent remains. Such a headline shows a misunderstanding of the voting process.
The same goes for this UPI headline, which gives Schumer far too much credit when it claims, "Senate confirms CQ Brown to Joint Chiefs chairman after Schumer breaks Tuberville blockade."
AL.com publishes repeat offenders as well, in that it went with a headline quoting Schumer giving himself far too much credit, "Schumer plans military promotion votes after months of Tuberville's holds: 'We are ready to end this.'"
The way to fully "end" the holds would be to rescind the illegal abortion policy. The Senate confirmed these promotions by acquiescing to Tuberville's demands as he pointed out that individual votes could still take place. It only took this long because Schumer has waited this long.
Further, as Tuberville's office has long reminded, these positions are not open as Schumer and fellow Democrats lament at great length. Servicemembers remain in their positions until their replacement is confirmed. They also receive backpay from when they were first promoted.
"Senate Confirms Marine Corps Leader After Tuberville's Holds Kept Position Empty For Months," read a headline from the Daily Caller. General Smith had served as acting commandant of the Marine Corps before he was confirmed. The article does mention Smith served as both acting and assisting commandant in the second paragraph, though.
With such narratives and headlines, it's not hard to think that at least some of these outlets could be taking their cues from Schumer and other Democrats. One article from AL.com mentioned above quoted Schumer, after all.
In his remarks calling for a vote, Schumer no doubt sought to weaken Tuberville's resolve by claiming from the Senate floor before the vote that the senator from Alabama "accomplished nothing."
It's no doubt what Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth were looking to do when they wrote an op-ed published earlier this month in the Washington Post, "Three service secretaries to Tuberville: Stop this dangerous hold on senior officers."
Del Toro even brought up how he was born in Cuba to rebuke the senator further when the three appeared on "The Lead with Jake Tapper," claiming, "I would have never imagined that actually one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting communist and other autocratic regimes around the world."
But, as Tuberville's office told Townhall, such an attack against the senator "strengthens his resolve."
Whether or not these media outlets took their cues from Democrats, it's undeniable that the Biden administration has gone after Tuberville for standing up to the illegal policy in favor of the right to life and the rule of law. Tuberville shows no sign of backing down.
The Pentagon doesn’t know how to win wars against America’s foreign enemies, so it instead wages war against the regime’s domestic enemies. They’d sooner negotiate with Iran, al Qaeda, and the Taliban than negotiate with Tommy Tuberville or Mike Lee. https://t.co/Wj0XlUUa20
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) September 21, 2023
