On Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) made a major announcement about the hold he was placing on military holds and promotions in response to the Pentagon's illegal abortion policy. Under the policy, which violates 10 U.S.C. 1093, servicemembers and their dependents can receive paid time off for abortions, and travel expenses are covered if the abortion takes place out-of-state. There is no gestational limit with the policy.
Tuberville had been previewing an announcement for weeks, and on Tuesday revealed that he will be lifting his hold for promotions except for those with four stars. Tuberville is releasing his hold after approximately one year as his fellow Republicans, per POLITICO's Burgess Everett, will oppose the standing order. Last month, Democrats on the Senate Rules Committee passed a plan which would circumvent Tuberville's holds. They've claimed it's not a rules change.
There was a smattering of applause from inside the GOP lunch a couple minutes ago
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) December 5, 2023
In his coverage, CNN's Manu Raju noted that these amount to about 10 or 11 nominees, who he is still demanding get individual, roll-call votes.
As Raju explained further, "all those [3-stars and below] he will allow to go forward" which means "that Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, can go to the floor and simply call for their vote, and they can be approved quickly on a voice vote." Tuberville had been objecting to promotions sailing through via unanimous consent, something that, as Raju pointed out, is how promotions typically sail through.
The hold will release hundreds of nominees and promotions. Schumer could have called for individual votes on these promotions, though, which he did do in recent months.
The Hill reported that "Tuberville said that he is jumping on board with an idea presented by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) that would release all of his holds on military officers at the 3-star level and below." Sullivan and Ernst were among those handful of fellow Republican senators who tried in previous weeks from the Senate floor to get Tuberville to drop his holds, to no avail.
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Raju also addressed how Tuberville was "facing pressure from his right flank, from within the Senate Republican conference over this, and calls to potentially change the Senate procedure to allow these nominees to be confirmed without his support." There was even, as Raju explained, "talk among Republicans in that effort, all of which led to pressure on Tuberville to ultimately back down here."
Explaining further, Raju offered that "several of [Republicans] indicated they were planning to vote with Democrats, to change the Senate procedures, essentially circumvent Tommy Tuberville's holds here," suggesting Tuberville "decided it's best to just back down at this point, given the growing and growing pressure." Raju emphasized "the political pressure" throughout his reporting, while also indicating "most of these 450 promotions" will pass through "in the coming days."
News -- Tommy Tuberville announces he will allow most of the 450 military nominees to get confirmed and will drop holds. Will only focus on 10-11 four-star nominees and demand they get roll-call votes.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 5, 2023
Tuberville tells reporters: "They are released as we speak," per @foxreports pic.twitter.com/kiWobJ1qM1
The Pentagon's abortion policy represents concerns with a woke military under the Biden administration, though it's not the only area of concern. Tuberville and those supporting his holds have long pointed to concerns with military nominees as well, including and especially those at the top.
On Tuesday morning, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts addressed some of those very concerns with his op-ed for Newsweek, "The U.S. Military Went Woke. Time To Make Some Changes at the Top."
Heritage has supported Tuberville with his holds, and has also been among those calling out fellow Republicans who were not more supportive. Over the course of his holds, Tuberville enjoyed significant support from other Republicans, not just in the Senate, but in the House as well. Grassroots leaders and veterans also supported Tuberville, as did Alabama voters.
Heritage Action Executive Vice President Ryan Walker expressed his disappointment towards Schumer and "some Senate Republicans." He still gave credit to Tuberville.
Credit should be given to @SenTuberville for standing in the breach, calling out this policy and the people advocating for it. Thank you @SenTuberville for your dedication to life.
— Ryan Walker (@ryanlwalker) December 5, 2023
A senior House GOP aide also expressed support for Tuberville in a statement for Townhall. "It didn't have to end this way. Coach put up a hell of a fight. He was just up against too many Senators in his own party who call themselves pro-life but refused to have his back and sold him out. This is 100% their fault," the aide said.
Not long after Tuberville announced his decision, Townhall also spoke with Robert Greenway, the director for the Center of Defense at Heritage. He offered that Heritage supported Tuberville on his holds because they agreed with him, stressing that the Department of Defense's (DOD) policy was for the first time "was illegal."
Throughout the conversation, Greenway emphasized that "the core of the issue" is that operating with such an illegal policy puts the DOD in "an incredibly awkward position." This is especially since the military operates under rules.
"For those of us that served, you know, one of the strengths of the military and the sort of essential prerequisites is that it executes the orders given, as long as they're legal. And, it's impossible to do that if the leadership is occupying a position where they're flouting Congress and the law in a number of different ways," he offered. "Within the department, you know, that the entire building entire organization exists on the execution of orders, lawful orders, and if your boss decides that he can determine which orders he's going to obey, then that mean you get to decide? And that's when everything falls apart," Greenway also went on to share.
Tuberville has often said that not only was he fighting for the right to life with his holds, but for the rule of law as well.
Also, for those who would claim that Tuberville's policy has "paralyzed the DOD," Greenway called it "an absurd statement" and made clear "it's just frankly, not supported by the facts" with he reality being "we've got more senior leaders serving in the military was fewer people to supervise than we've had in our history." What problems do exist with the DOD, Greenway offered, have to do with issues in Washington, D.C. as well as the "largest recruiting crisis in our military history."
How does Tuberville himself feel about his releasing the holds? According to Fox News' Chad Pergram, he regards it as a draw, and also emphasized he is still holding up four star generals.
B) Tuberville: We didn't get what we wanted and you know when they change the rules, its hard to win and so they changed the NDAA rules so we didn't get to fight for it to leave it in the Senate so just unfortunate. the American people didnt get a voice
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 5, 2023
C) Tuberville: I'm releasing everybody, I still got a hold on I think 11 4 star generals, everybody else is completely released from me. Now somebody else might, I think there's a few other people who have holds on one or two or 3 people... but other than that it's over
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 5, 2023
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