PF5
Sheriff
Tuberville is showing how much power one lawmaker wields under Senate rules npr
Since February, the senator has been blocking every personnel move in the U.S. military that requires confirmation. Starting with a "senatorial hold" on what was then 150 personnel moves waiting for approval in batches, he is now up to at least 270 — and counting.
That lawmaker is Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama who has been in the Senate for a little over two years. Tuberville likes to say "there is no one more military than me." And while he has not served in the military himself, he regularly features Alabama service members on his senatorial website.
Notably, the positions without permanent replacements include that of the Marine Commandant, a post that is now unfilled for the first time since the Civil War. The commandant is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior uniformed leadership of the U.S. military.
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why is he doing this???
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In two words: abortion policy. He has said he wants to overturn the Pentagon policy of granting leave and travel expenses for military personnel who cannot obtain an abortion in the state where they are stationed. For example, Alabama, which has one of the strictest limits on abortion in the country, has six military facilities. Tuberville told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a committee hearing earlier this year that the taxpayer should not be "on the hook" for such costs. He says it violates the Hyde Amendment that bans federal funding for abortion.
What other objectives Tuberville may have, we can only speculate. It is not unusual for first-term senators to look for issues that may raise their profile. Tuberville has yet to make much of a mark beyond Alabama, although he was very widely known for his exploits as a football coach at Auburn University, and other schools.
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Since February, the senator has been blocking every personnel move in the U.S. military that requires confirmation. Starting with a "senatorial hold" on what was then 150 personnel moves waiting for approval in batches, he is now up to at least 270 — and counting.
That lawmaker is Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama who has been in the Senate for a little over two years. Tuberville likes to say "there is no one more military than me." And while he has not served in the military himself, he regularly features Alabama service members on his senatorial website.
Notably, the positions without permanent replacements include that of the Marine Commandant, a post that is now unfilled for the first time since the Civil War. The commandant is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior uniformed leadership of the U.S. military.
...
why is he doing this???
...
In two words: abortion policy. He has said he wants to overturn the Pentagon policy of granting leave and travel expenses for military personnel who cannot obtain an abortion in the state where they are stationed. For example, Alabama, which has one of the strictest limits on abortion in the country, has six military facilities. Tuberville told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a committee hearing earlier this year that the taxpayer should not be "on the hook" for such costs. He says it violates the Hyde Amendment that bans federal funding for abortion.
What other objectives Tuberville may have, we can only speculate. It is not unusual for first-term senators to look for issues that may raise their profile. Tuberville has yet to make much of a mark beyond Alabama, although he was very widely known for his exploits as a football coach at Auburn University, and other schools.
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