Tommy Tuberville and his effects on the pentagon
Tommy Tuberville has been at the center of a setback on Capitol Hill as he is refusing to pass a bill from the Pentagon to provide reproductive care for military members. His time as a senator began shortly before the insurrection; however, he did not make his mark until recently.
The Pentagon is under a lot of scrutiny after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Their members are employed across the country, and they are forced to try to navigate the patchwork of abortion laws. The main question for the Pentagon is whether they should equalize the playing field for all military members because different states have varying laws and members do not get to choose where they are stationed. The Pentagon issued a policy in February stating that they would “offer time off and travel reimbursement to anybody who needs to go out of state to obtain an abortion or some other form of reproductive care that is not offered in the state where you’re stationed.” Yet, Tommy Tuberville makes it nearly impossible for them to pass this piece of legislation. He has started a legislative blockade against the Pentagon.
As a Republican senator, Tuberville is against this law because he comes from a very conservative background and he believes that individuals should not enable abortions to happen. He also claims that this policy introduced by the Pentagon is effectively the same as the federal government funding abortions, which is currently illegal. Since he is in a seat of power over the Pentagon, he has declared an ultimatum: if the Pentagon enacts this policy, he will make it impossible for them to promote any of their high-ranking officials. However, the Pentagon went through with introducing their policy, and he objected to the promotion of admirals in March. Tuberville has the ability to be a one-man blockade because unanimous consent is needed in the Senate. His only way of backing down is if he negotiates with the defense secretary. Tuberville wants Congress to have control over what the bill should be. The Daily explains, “That means either an act of Congress to force the Pentagon to undo their policy on abortion access, or proactively passing a law that says that policy, that’s the law. And if they fail to do that, if lawmakers can’t get that law through Congress, he wants the Pentagon to revoke its policy.” So this becomes a big deal in terms of military security, as the number of people who should be promoted, yet have been affected by delays increases from hundreds to thousands. With this blockade, he is making the military weaker and national security is at risk. So the only way for this to come to an end is for the Biden administration to give in to the GOP for a social policy. Tommy Tuberville has put the Senate and the U.S. military at risk. There is no clear and effective approach to end this issue and he will fight as long as he can, creating more risks for the future.
