Tuberville’s action is in response to a Department of Defense policy installed earlier this year that allows the military to pay for travel expenses and leave time for service women seeking abortions. The policy extends to dependents, too, so wives of service men are also eligible.
In response, Tuberville has placed “holds” on military promotions. His months-long blockade is now in jeopardy after a proposed change was passed by the Senate Rules Committee Tuesday. A full vote on the rules change is yet to come.
After last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave states the power to enact their own abortion laws, many states immediately set out making it much more restrictive – including states that house large military bases. The new policy allows service members to receive up to three weeks of paid leave to travel to less-restrictive, abortion-friendly states for abortion services. Travel costs are also paid.
Tuberville has gotten a boost from 27 Republican senators who wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accusing Austin of breaking a promise to the American people with this policy.
“The letter simply says, you promised not to politicize the military and you did,” Sen. Ted Budd (R-North Carolina) said on Washington Watch Tuesday. “The simplest way to fix this is to change the policy. I've told him in person, in multiple hearings, the way to fix this is with the stroke of a pen.”
Budd has praised Austin for his record of service but told show host Tony Perkins the first African-American defense secretary has “become completely politicized" by the Biden administration.
"It’s very disappointing and the narrative needs to be the truth," Budd said. "The truth is this is not about Tuberville. He’s simply standing up for good policy.”
Saying one thing and doing another can lead to issues of trust with senators.
Critics say there have been trust issues with Austin earlier in his military career. As the head of US Central Command ,which oversees miliary operations in the Middle East, he was widely praised for developing the strategy that led to the defeat of ISIS. But getting there was a bumpy road.
“Things were really bad,” Kris Alexander, a retired lieutenant colonel who served with Austin at Central Command, said in a Vox interview. “He was a really good combat leader but you really don’t know who’s ready for that Combatant Command-level until they get there.”
Austin and his leadership team faced allegations from CENTCOM intelligence officials that they sought slanted analysis to make ISIS seem weaker than it was and American efforts more effective than they actually were, Vox reported.
Austin and others were eventually cleared of the allegations in a 2017 Pentagon investigation.
Some promotions have actually been approved during this time when they’ve been brought to the floor individually.
Republican Senators, led by Dan Sullivan of Alaska, have in recent weeks come out in opposition to Tuberville’s stance and requested floor votes by unanimous consent. Sullivan has been joined by Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Todd Young (Indiana) and Mitt Romney (Utah).
In addition, Democrats were able to push through the rules committee Tuesday a temporary change to the rule that allows a senator to place holds on promotions, Budd said.
“It would expire but it would be an unfortunate short-term change,” Budd said. He expects the measure to pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Republicans, meanwhile, have questioned the legality of the DOD policy. The Hyde Amendment, a legislative provision that bars the use of federal funds to pay for abortion except in matters of rape, incest or life endangerment, named for former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), was passed in 1977.
The DOD counters that it’s within the law by paying only for travel and for the time away from the job. The Department of Justice predictably agrees.
“DoD is well within its authority to pay for travel for abortion care," the Department of Defense states in an FAQ with the National Women’s Law Center. "In a recent memorandum, DOJ explains that the current bans on abortion in the military—meaning the ban on abortion at MTFs and coverage of abortion under TRICARE—do not apply to covering travel funds for an abortion. Additionally, DOJ affirms that the agency has authority to use such funds in support of DoD’s mission for readiness and morale."
