Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville Issues New Threat Against Pentagon

Senator Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, issued a new threat against the Pentagon this week amid his continued opposition to nominations and promotions of officials in the U.S. military.

Over the past several months, Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach who was elected in 2020, has protested nominations within the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), initially opposing abortion-related policies within the Pentagon, such as the agency helping to pay for some expenses, such as travel, for service members and their families to get the medical procedure if they were located in a state where they could not get one.

"I warned the Pentagon that I would hold their most senior nominees if they broke the law. They did it anyway, and forced my hand. Since then, [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Biden Administration have refused any serious negotiations, and so this situation has dragged on," Tuberville said in a statement shared exclusively with Breitbart News on Friday.

The senator's statement continued: "This has given me more time to look more closely into the background of some of these nominees, and I have deep concerns about some of them. I will continue this process of oversight and I will announce my opposition to specific nominees in the weeks ahead."

Tuberville has said that the Pentagon's abortion policy violates the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion procedures except if it is to save the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.

In a previous statement in March, Tuberville said he was "holding DOD nominations because the secretary of defense [Lloyd Austin] is trying to push through a massive expansion of taxpayer-subsidized abortions—without going through this body. Without going through Congress. Three months ago, I informed Secretary Austin that if he tried to turn the DOD into an abortion travel agency, I would place a hold on all civilian, flag and general officer nominees."

When reached for comment by Newsweek, a spokesperson for Tuberville's office said on Friday that "the brave men and women of our armed services deserve better than the woke policies of the Biden administration."

According to The Washington Post, Tuberville's decision to block DOD nominations has affected at least 301 positions as of August 12, and the number is expected to increase to around 650.

In July, Tuberville said he had spoken with Austin about his opposition to nominations, saying, "I think the more we continue to converse, I think the better chance we got."

In regard to the senator's opposition to the Pentagon's abortion policies, Austin said that same month that "Senator Tuberville has said that it's illegal. It's not illegal, and we've made that point a number of times...I would ask Senator Tuberville to lift his hold."

Additionally, Austin made further comments about Tuberville's hold on nominations earlier this month and said, "Because of this blanket hold, starting today, for the first time in the history of the Department of Defense, three of our military services are operating without Senate-confirmed leaders."

He continued: "This is unprecedented, it is unnecessary, and it is unsafe...This sweeping hold is undermining America's military readiness. It's hindering our ability to retain our very best officers. And it's upending the lives of far too many American military families."

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Defense via email for comment.