Biden pick warns military will ‘lose talent’ if GOP Senator keeps blocking Pentagon nominations
The man who could serve as the next top U.S. Army officer warned Congress that Senator Tommy Tuberville’s bloc of promotions and senior officer appointments could cause every department to lose top talent.
Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, President Joe Biden’s choice to serve as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared his views on the bloc during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The Marine Corps has no confirmed leader for the first time in a century due to the blockade.
Outgoing Commander David Berger stepped down Monday after reaching the term of office, but Tuberville is blocking Gen. Eric Smith, currently the assistant commander, from being confirmed by the Senate as his successor.
President Joe Biden’s choice as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown (pictured) warned Tuesday during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Forces Committee that the military will “lose talent” if the grip continues on promotions and senior officer appointments
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama (pictured) is blocking all promotions and appointments of senior military leaders until the Pentagon scraps a new rule that uses taxpayers’ money for military personnel to travel out of state for an abortion
Senator Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, has stopped all nominations for senior military positions in protest against a new Pentagon directive that uses taxpayers’ money for female military personnel leaving the state for abortions.
Abortion is now illegal in Tuberville’s home state of Alabama.
The blockade, Progressive Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren noted at Tuesday’s hearing, will ultimately leave 650 leaders in limbo pending promotions and appointments.
“My concern is there is future retention,” General Brown warned at the hearing.
He added: “We have our junior officers now looking up and saying, ‘If that’s the challenge we could face in the future. I’m going to balance between my family and fulfilling a higher position.’ And because of those challenges, we are going to lose talent.’
Brown noted that not only are service members affected, but husbands and children are now uncertain about the future as well.
He told the Senate panel on Tuesday that some families have already sold their homes pending relocation and are now in temporary basic housing and others were preparing for retirement but are now being held pending replacements.
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade last summer, Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled a rule that allows the use of funds to pay service members to leave the state for abortion services if necessary.
Caught in the bloc’s crosshairs is the appointment of assistant commander of the Marine Corps, Eric Smith, to take over when Commander Berger’s term expires. The Marine Corps now has no Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in 100 years
The Dobbs Supreme Court decision in June 2022 sent abortion laws back to the states — and more conservative jurisdictions, such as Alabama, imposed restrictive laws on termination of pregnancy.
“The spouse network is alive and well and the spouses will compare notes,” Brown added during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday. “The member may want to serve, but the spouses and the families get a huge voice.”
He said that if families are unhappy, they can influence their spouses or senior officer parents to end their military service.
No nominee for general or admiral has been confirmed for months because of the Tuberville blockade.
The Alabama senator said he would give up the watch if the Pentagon reversed its policy to reimburse travel for troops undergoing abortions.
There are currently over 250 senior promotions pending Senate approval.
Tuberville did not mention the blockade or the DoD’s abortion policy in general during Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.
The Democrats, however, did not pass up their chance to call on the Republican senator.
“What he could do to help is lift this stay before it does more damage to this country,” Senator Warren said.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine argued during his time that Tuberville punishes apolitical military personnel for policies beyond their control.
“I’m not aware of anything they’ve done that would disrespect them, punish them or slow them down in their careers,” Kaine said. “Just because a privilege can be exercised doesn’t mean it should be exercised.
“I urge all my colleagues to turn away from the path we are on, where we disrespect and punish people because we are not satisfied with policies in the military that these individuals had nothing to do with.”