Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has been singlehandedly blocking hundreds of senior military promotions from going forward for months, facing mounting criticism even from fellow Republicans including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and prompting at least one staff resignation as the media turns the scrutiny on the situation.
But to hear it from Tuberville, the real problem is that the Biden administration and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin just won't "compromise" with him.
"I will keep my hold until the Pentagon follows the law and Congress changes the law," said Tuberville in a Senate floor speech, according to congressional reporter Craig Caplan. "A show vote in committee is not good enough."
The source of Tuberville's anger is a Department of Defense policy, passed after the Supreme Court's rescission of Roe v. Wade, that allows personnel who live in states where abortion is prohibited to take a leave of absence to travel to states where it is permitted. DOD does not actually pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency — but the leave of absence policy applies to elective abortions paid out of personnel pocket.
Tuberville wants this policy reversed, and for Congress to pass legislation explicitly prohibiting it.
"The White House has not reached out to me once in four months. No one has contacted me. There's not been one conversation, not one path forward," said Tuberville. "I've spoke to Secretary Austin outside of Armed Services Committee hearing exactly once in the last two years. That was a 10 minute phone call three months ago. He made absolutely no effort to find a compromise in our situation."
"Many of the claims about me have been completely false. This is no way to negotiate with a colleague," raged Tuberville. "Frankly, this kind of behavior just steels my resolve. The more false claims my colleagues on the left make about me, the more it makes me inclined to hold my holds in place."
Austin, meanwhile, has warned that Tuberville's obstruction is beginning to pose a threat to military preparedness.
"Not approving the recommendations for promotions actually creates a ripple effect through the force that makes us far less ready than we need to be," said Austin in March. "The effects are cumulative and it will affect families. It will affect kids going to schools because they won’t be able to change their duty station. It’s a powerful effect and will impact on our readiness."