In his weekly call with the media, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) said it is embarrassing elected leaders have been caught with classified documents.
Tuberville said all of these politicians, including President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and now Vice President Mike Pence are supposed to know the rules.
“All this is embarrassing. You’ve got grown people up here who are supposed to understand the rules and regulations. I can pretty much understand a president, with all the people around them, handling these documents, maybe getting them in the wrong spot,” said Tuberville. “When it comes to a vice president, and a senator, as a senator I am privy to classified documents everyday.”
Tuberville said perhaps he can give some slack to a president because so many people are around him, but he said there’s no excuse for anyone else, including a vice president.
“I can’t imagine taking any classified as being a senator, out of those rooms. If you do it, you do it on purpose, and you are doing it for some unknown reason. That you should have to pay the price for. ”
During the call, Tuberville also addressed the United States’ decision to now supply Ukraine with tanks.
Tuberville said this move escalates the country’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. Tuberville said he’s also concerned about the level of involvement of other NATO allies.
“We’re walking a fine line here. We all understand there’s going to be a new offensive in the spring time from Russia. They are coming, they’re gonna come hard. That’s the reason we are sending the tanks and that’s the reason hopefully Germany is sending tanks. They are responsible too.”
He also voiced his concern about the government’s transparency about how the money sent to Ukraine is being spent. He said the U.S. isn’t just sending money for weapons to fight the Russians. American taxpayer dollars are funding the Ukrainian government and being used for salaries and food.
“I want the American people to have an account of their tax payer money, about where its going, and what its used for obviously we know what the tanks are going to be used for, but the rest of the money, President Zelensky of Ukraine is having to fire people because money is being misplaced. Is that American money, if it is, somebody needs to be held accountable.”
Tuberville said he doesn’t want to see the war escalate to a point where our military has to get involved.
Senator Tuberville then commented on the debt ceiling saying, the U.S. Needs to spend within its means, stop borrowing money from other countries, and balance our own budget. His stance is, when it comes to balancing the budget, social security and Medicaid are off limits. He said the American people work too hard, for too long for those budgets to be cut.
“This place is a joke when it comes to money and oversight, and making sure the American taxpayers money goes in the right direction. It’s mind boggling to me how this place even stays in session.”
Tuberville didn’t give specifics, but says there has to areas where they can cut from in order to protect social security.
As for raising the debt ceiling, he said the government borrowed the money , and needs to honor those debts, but didn’t fully commit to voting to raise the debt ceiling.
