WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen joined her colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee in a letter calling on Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to help end Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) anti-choice blockade of senior military promotions, which is jeopardizing America’s national security and military readiness.
For months, Senator Tuberville has been blocking the promotion of several hundred military officers, citing his opposition to the Defense Department’s policy ensuring female servicemembers can access reproductive care if they are based in a state that currently restricts access. This has resulted in the U.S. Marine Corps being without a Senate confirmed Commandant for the first time in 164 years, and leaves senior military roles unfilled, soon to include nearly half of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Since February, Senator Tommy Tuberville [R-AL] has been single-handedly blocking the promotion of hundreds of generals and admirals, threatening our national security and the orderly and necessary leadership transitions typical of our professional military, over his disagreement with the DOD’s travel policy,” wrote the lawmakers. “In the coming months, more than half of the current Joint Chiefs are required to vacate their posts, and due to Senator Tuberville’s stonewalling, they’ll do so without a Senate-approved successor in place.”
“As the leader of the Republican Conference, we count on you to hold your colleagues accountable when they recklessly cross boundaries and upend Senatorial order. Senator Tuberville’s continuation of this stalemate is reckless, dangerous, and must end,” the lawmakers continued. “It falls to you to act now, for the safety and security of our nation. We urge you to exercise your leadership and prevail on Senator Tuberville to end his reckless hold.”
The full letter can be found here.
Senator Rosen has been a leader in the effort to end this reckless hold on hundreds of senior military promotions. During a recent confirmation hearing for the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senator Rosen called out the fact that General Charles Q. Brown Jr.’s swift confirmation is being held up by this hold. She also took to the Senate floor in an attempt to confirm the hundreds of routine promotions, including the Vice Commander of the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, explaining how the anti-choice blockade poses a serious risk to America’s national security and military readiness.
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