Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) blasted Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Tuesday after he blocked advancement for all top military officials because of a Department of Defense abortion policy.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Warren explained how Tuberville had taken extraordinary steps to oppose a policy supporting service members who need to travel for an abortion.
"Occasionally, a senator may object to an individual nomination, usually to indicate opposition to that appointment or to insist on answers to questions from a federal agency," she explained. "But that is not what Senator from Alabama is doing."
"Instead, he is blocking every single top military leader from advancing indefinitely," she continued. "He's snared all 184 top-level service members who are currently slated for advancement, and he stopped every single one of them dead in their tracks."
Warren pointed out Tuberville sits on the Armed Services Committee and has other opportunities to influence DOD policy.
"The senator is blocking 184 top military promotions because he disagrees with the Department of Defense policy to help service members and their families access needed health care, specifically to travel to access abortion care," she observed. "Now, I disagree with the senator on that issue, but if he wants to press for votes to reverse DOD's health care policies, he can do that."
"That is how democracy works," she added.
Tuberville responded by refusing to back down.
"It's not about abortion," he insisted. "This is about a tyrannical executive branch walking all over the United States Senate and doing our jobs."
"Now I warned Secretary [Lloyd] Austin that if he did this and changed this, I would put a hold on his highest-level nominees," Tuberville remarked. "Secretary Austin went through with the policy anyway in February of this year. So I am keeping my word. This was Secretary Austin's choice, not mine."
