In polling conducted from July 19-20 among a little over 1,200 likely voters, Data for Progress found a majority of respondents expressing opposition to recent actions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) that have been decried as threatening military readiness.
Tuberville has objected to hundreds of nominations and promotions for top spots in the military, leaving the responsibilities associated with these positions to be executed often on an acting basis. Acting officials, meaning those filling the role on a tentative basis without in this case the required approval from the Senate, do not necessarily have the same legal powers with which to work as those who’ve received confirmation. Tuberville has made his objections in protest of a Defense Department policy providing travel support to covered individuals seeking an abortion, who may now need to travel long distances to obtain the previously widely available health care because of GOP-led states imposing bans now that the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
In the polling from Data for Progress, 55 percent of overall respondents expressed frustration with Tuberville’s tactics. Only 33 percent of those answering said they were in support, while 12 percent said they didn’t know. Notably, even 29 percent of Republicans joined those expressing opposition to the Alabama Senator’s actions. Among independents and those voting third party, the level of opposition was at 58 percent.
The same set of polling data also showed high levels of opposition among Americans to other GOP priorities, like blocking the military from funding gender-affirming care for its members. And Data for Progress also found most respondents opposing the amendment from House Republicans to the latest iteration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would force the military to stop providing that travel support. A full 51 percent overall rejected the GOP’s push, which still required additional rounds of review before even potentially being presented to the president. The Democratic Party-led Senate was quickly set to make its own modifications.
