Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who infamously lost her bid for re-election last year to a Trump-backed challenger in the Republican primary for her seat, spoke out in recent days against Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Like others, Cheney condemned Tuberville for his months of objections to the progression of nominations for high-ranking posts in military leadership.
Tuberville’s blockade has affected hundreds and hundreds of roles, leaving three branches of the U.S. military without Senate-confirmed leaders in the roles whose occupants join the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Affected branches include the U.S. Marines, Navy, and Army. Tuberville has made his stand in protest of support that’s been made available by the Defense Department for personnel seeking an abortion. The support is for travel and related needs, not the abortion itself. The country now has a patchwork of access to the procedure after the Supreme Court allowed Republican (and other) state officials to chart their own policy path around providing abortions.
“Senator @TTuberville is doing significant damage to American military readiness and national security,” Cheney said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “His hold on DOD nominees is directly aiding America’s enemies, and raising serious questions about whose side the Senator is on. Senate leaders need to end this now.”
Others have called for there to be a change in the Senate’s logistical handling of military nominees so that one Senator can not so dramatically upend the process and leave Senate and military leaders scrambling with only drastic options available. Tuberville’s blockade has created significant logistical hurdles for those running the military as the responsibilities associated with the positions around which he’s blocking nominees have shifted to figures operating in what is known as an acting capacity, meaning they’ve temporarily assumed the role to maintain a basic level of functioning. Others have also pointed to the impacts on military families who have seen their life plans curtailed or upended because of Tuberville’s blockade against confirmations.
Senator @TTuberville is doing significant damage to American military readiness and national security. His hold on DOD nominees is directly aiding America’s enemies, and raising serious questions about whose side the Senator is on. Senate leaders need to end this now. https://t.co/jYrXeGeaB4
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) August 14, 2023
