WASHINGTON, DC – This week, during the confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee for the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) called out the fact that General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.’s swift confirmation is being held up by an extreme Republican hold on senior military promotions.
Since March, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has blocked the routine promotions for over 250 military officers, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Vice Commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force base, because of his objections to Department of Defense policy that allows servicemembers to access reproductive and abortion care. In May, Senator Rosen took to the Senate floor to push to end this extreme anti-choice blockade.
MSNBC: Rosen urges Republican colleague to end blockade of senior military promotions
Rosen: “There are literally over 250 promotions that are not being moved up. So, this really puts our readiness at stake. This puts our readiness in our domestic security, national security, and our global security. […] People in these key positions with knowledge of our national security, whether it’s the Marines, the Army, our national security agencies. This puts us at extreme risk and extreme vulnerability. And Senator Tuberville is doing this for purely political reasons. We urge him to take off his hold.”
CNN: Democrats blast Tuberville hold during Joint Staff Chairman nominee hearing
By Haley Britzky and Oren Libermann
Key Points:
- The nominations hold is being led by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who has used the blockade as a way to protest new Pentagon policies on reproductive health care, which among other things included a travel allowance for service members who must go out of state to receive an abortion.
- Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada called the hold “outrageous” and told Brown she was “deeply concerned” that his nomination was being held up.
- “Enough is enough,” she said. “We need to fill these critical roles, and I would like to see you have a quick confirmation.”
Associated Press: Joint Chiefs nominee wins over lawmakers but faces uncertain fate because of senator’s hold
By Lolita C. Baldor
Key Points:
- Brown’s nomination is among more than 260 being stalled by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. He is blocking the confirmation of all senior military officers in protest over Defense Department policy that pays for travel when a service member has to go out of state to get an abortion or other reproductive care.
- Democrats blasted him and Republicans said they are hoping to persuade him to lift the holds — which could affect 650 service members by year’s end.
- “Enough is enough,” snapped Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.
Las Vegas Sun: Nevada’s Rosen slams obstruction for senior military promotions
Key Points:
- Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., reiterated her objections Tuesday to Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s extended hold on senior military promotions.
- “I’m deeply concerned at the fact that your swift confirmation is being held up, along with hundreds of other senior military promotions, including those in my state of Nevada,” Rosen said in her remarks to Brown, currently the Air Force chief of staff. “That wouldn’t be acceptable for any reason, but it’s even more outrageous that these holds are to get rid of a policy that protects our servicemembers’ reproductive rights. This extreme, anti-choice agenda is jeopardizing our national security in order to impose restrictions on our servicemembers’ reproductive freedoms. Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles. And I would like to see you have a quick confirmation.”
- In May, Rosen took to the Senate floor to chastise the blockade on military promotions, saying, in part, “Failure to fill these positions poses a risk to our nation’s military readiness and our ability to ensure that these critical roles are filled with the personnel that we need.”
KTVN Reno: Rosen calls out anti-choice blockade of military promotions jeopardizing national security
Anchor: “Senator Rosen says that the Vice Commander of the Air Force Warfare Center in Southern Nevada has been blocked from promotion, and [she] is worried how this will impact our Air Force base in Nevada, which provides the largest air and ground military training space in the continental U.S.”
KUNR Reno: Rosen calls out anti-choice blockade of military promotions critical to national security
Reporter: “The Pentagon is criticizing Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama for continuing to block the nominations of more than 250 senior U.S. military officers. The Senator says the Defense Department policy that pays for a service member to travel out of state to receive reproductive care, including abortion was implemented without congressional authorization. Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada is urging Tuberville to end his protests.”
Rosen: “This extreme anti-choice agenda it’s jeopardizing our national security in order to impose restrictions on our servicemembers reproductive freedoms. Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles.”
KOH-AM Reno: Rosen speaks out against anti-choice blockade on senior military promotions
Rosen: “This extreme anti-choice agenda, it’s jeopardizing our national security in order to impose restrictions on our servicemembers’ reproductive freedoms. Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles. And I would like to see you have a quick confirmation.”
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