Pentagon Warns Military Readiness ‘At Risk’ With GOP Senator Blockade of Nominees

The Pentagon is warning Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama that he is setting a “perilous precedent” in obstructing hundreds of military nominations for general and flag officers. 

The controversy revolves around Tuberville’s objection to a Defense Department policy established in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year. The policy reimburses the travel expenses for service members who trek to a different state for the purpose of obtaining what the Pentagon describes as non-covered reproductive health care. Tuberville contends this violates the Hyde Amendment—a law that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortion services. 

Non-covered reproductive health care includes procedures such as in vitro fertilization and egg retrieval but also abortions that do not meet the criteria where the life of the mother would be endangered or in cases of incest or rape, according to the Defense Health Agency. 

“Without these leaders in place, these holds severely limit the department's ability to ensure the right person is in place at the right time and to ensure our strategic readiness and operational success,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said. “These holds set a dangerous precedent and puts our military readiness at risk at a time when our military is expected to defend the nation with the acute threat of Russia and address the pacing challenge of the [People’s Republic of China].” 

Singh said the Pentagon has 64 three and four star general or admiral nominations that are waiting to rotate into positions that will be vacated. There are roughly 650 general and flag officers that require Senate confirmation by the end of the year. Tuberville’s blanket hold potentially could impact incoming replacements for the Joint Chiefs of Staff later this year, including the chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley. 

Contacted by The Messenger, a spokesperson for Tuberville’s office pointed to previous statements made by the senator on the Senate floor and in the media. 

Tuberville’s blockade began this past March after he informed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that he would hold all civilian, flag and general officer nominees if Austin attempted to turn the Pentagon into what Tuberville characterized as an “abortion travel agency.”

In a speech on the Senate floor, Tuberville said in May: “If Secretary Austin is so worried, he can’t live without these nominees, he can suspend his memo. That’s all he has to do. Drop your memo, and these nominees will proceed by unanimous consent. I’m a man of my word. I’ll stand down. Until then, I’m standing up for the Constitution and the unborn.”

Speaking to political donors in California, President Joe Biden characterized Tuberville’s blockade of military nominees as “bizarre” on Monday. 

While Biden did not mention Tuberville by name he said “a former football coach from Alabama,” was holding up the military nominees. Prior to entering politics, Tuberville was the head coach of several college football teams, including Auburn University in Alabama. 

“It’s just bizarre. I don’t remember it happening before,” Biden said. “And I’ve been around. I know I don’t look like I’ve been around, but I’ve been around, I’ve been around a long time.” 

The Hyde Amendment and the U.S. Military Policy

In the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, a consequential development emerged on Capitol Hill: the inception of the Hyde Amendment. 

Rather than a standalone law, the Hyde Amendment manifests as a recurring congressional rider, usually added to the annual budget of the Department of Health and Human Services. In various forms, the Hyde Amendment has been re-enacted by Congress for more than four decades. 

Initially conceived as a measure to curtail the use of federal funds for abortion, the Hyde Amendment has progressively permeated other federal initiatives. As a result, military hospitals are constrained by federal statute, strictly prohibiting them from performing abortions unless specific circumstances prevail—namely, cases involving rape, incest, or instances where the life of the mother hangs in the balance. Furthermore, individuals seeking abortion services are unable to cover the costs out-of-pocket within military treatment facilities. 

But in the wake of the seismic shift of the Supreme Court overturning Roe last year, the constraints imposed by the Hyde Amendment have gained renewed significance. 

The Defense Department’s policy allows for service members to be absent from their duty station for up to 21 days without having to take official leave and reimburses travel expenses for members who trek to a different state for the purpose of receiving non-covered reproductive health care—which includes abortions that do not meet the criteria where the life of the mother would be endangered or in cases of incest or rape. Due to the Hyde Amendment, these types of abortions are not paid for by the U.S. military but instead are paid at the patient’s expense. 

As the landscape of reproductive rights undergoes a transformation across the United States, the experiences of service members grappling with the ramifications of these restrictions have assumed heightened importance. 

Trapped within the maze of state-level restrictions and the surge in more stringent abortion bans, service members needing access to reproductive health care face a new predicament centered on where the U.S. military locates a service member. To put this into perspective: an Army soldier stationed in Texas would have access to different standard of reproductive healthcare than a U.S. Marine in California. 

In conversations with The Messenger, Defense officials say the policy ultimately attempts to address this issue and standardize care — to include access to uncovered abortions, for service members regardless of where they serve. 

An issue of Military Readiness?

Since Tuberville’s blockade began, Pentagon officials have warned that the Alabama senator is jeopardizing military readiness at a time when the Defense Department is shifting to near peer competition from Russia and China.

A growing chorus of  lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have voiced criticism or not supported Tuberville’s hold on military promotions. 

During his confirmation hearing earlier this month to lead the Marine Corps, Marine Gen. Eric Smith was asked by Sen. Angus King of Maine if Tuberville’s blockade compromised national security. 

“Sir, I think it certainly compromises our ability to be most ready,” said Smith. 

Defense officials contend that Tuberville’s holds unfairly target apolitical career military officers up and down the chain of command—Tuberville staunchly disagrees. 

One of the past statements Tuberville’s press secretary pointed The Messenger to was the senator’s comments on the Senate floor in April: “My hold has no effect on readiness. None. In an Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Chairman Reed asked two of the military’s top combatant commanders what impact would my hold gave on readiness. Admiral John Aquilino said, quote, ‘no impact.’ General Paul LaCamera agreed. There is no impact on readiness or operations.”

A transcript of the committee hearing reviewed by The Messenger shows that Aquilino, who is head of the Indo-Pacific Command, did agree that there would be no impact operationally because “the 7th Fleet Commander is not going anywhere until a proper replacement is in place.”

LaCamera, the head of United Nations Command and U.S. Forces in Korea, agreed with Aquilino and speculated that the long term effects from Tuberville’s hold potentially could cost the Pentagon premium military officers.