WASHINGTON \u2013 The House Foreign Affairs chairman, Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, castigated Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Sunday for jeopardizing national security with his 9-month blockade of military promotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is paralyzing the Department of Defense,\u201d the Texan said on CNN. \u201cThat is a national security problem and a national security issue. And I really wish he would reconsider this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments amount to some of the sternest condemnation from a fellow Republican.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden and aides have condemned Tuberville, demanding he relent. The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force undertook a rare joint pressure blitz last week accusing the senator of undermining combat readiness as the promotion backlog grows.<\/p>\n
Tuberville has been blocking promotions over a Pentagon policy to reimburse service members and their families who must travel to obtain an abortion.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration adopted the policy after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June 2022, paving the way for Texas and other states to ban or severely limit access to abortion.<\/p>\n
As senior officers retired, three branches of the military \u2013 the Marines, Army and Navy \u2013 are no longer led by a Senate-confirmed officer, a first in American history.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of transfers and hand-offs of command have been stalled.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the joint chiefs, Army Gen. Mark Milley, will retire this month and with Tuberville\u2019s hold it\u2019s unclear whether Biden\u2019s pick to replace him, Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, will get a confirmation vote.<\/p>\n
So far more than 300 promotions have been stalled. By the end of the year, more than 600 officers will be awaiting promotions that require Senate approval.<\/p>\n
Approving promotions of military leaders is typically a routine, non-partisan exercise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am concerned the senator does not appreciate the gravity of the situation,\u201d Sen. Jack Reed<\/a>, D-R.I., chair of the Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor Wednesday. \u201cThese positions cannot simply be filled by other officers \u2014 they can only be temporarily covered by their vice chiefs, who must also continue to cover their own jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuberville rejects assertions his holds have or will impact national security, pointing out that jobs are filled temporarily by lower ranked officers.<\/p>\n