Tuberville says he worked just as hard as marine chief who had heart attack doing 2 jobs

The senator blocking hundreds of military promotions in a statement against Pentagon abortion policy says he worked just as hard as a Marine commandant who suffered a heart attack while doing two jobs.

"I did that for years, because you got to get the job done," Sen. Tommy Tuberville told CNN reporter Manu Raju Thursday. "Come on, give me a break, this guy’s gonna work 18 to 20 hours a day no matter what."

Tuberville (R-AL) repeatedly denied responsibility for the hospitalization of Commandant Gen. Eric Smith, who had been filling the top two positions in the Marine Corps since July.

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Much to the ire of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Tuberville has put a blanket hold on about 378 military promotions to protest a Pentagon abortion policy that helps troops that travel access abortion.

Sen. Jack Reed, the Rhode Island Democrat trying to change Senate rules to work around Tuberville's block, argues the Republican's protest has become increasingly risky as war wages in Ukraine and Israel.

“We have to get our personnel confirmed," Reed told States Newsroom Thursday. "It’s an extraordinary readiness issue."

The Alabama Senator in turn targeted Reed.

"Jack Reed blamed me for his heart attack," Tuberville said. "We're not going to go down that road."

A CNN host later provided more detail on when exactly Tuberville had worked the long hours he compared to Smith's.

"He had nothing to do with running the U.S. Defense forces," said Boris Sanchez. "He was a head coach in college football."