“No matter the name calling and media pressure, I will keep my holds in place until the Biden administration follows the law.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville authored the following op-ed in AL.com responding to recent false attacks surrounding his decision to place a hold on all U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) flag officer and civilian nominations. The piece comes as Senate Democrats attempted to circumvent his hold last week for the fourth time.
Excerpts from the op-ed can be found below, and the full piece can be read here.
“Since the Biden administration began illegally using tax dollars to facilitate elective abortion, I’ve used my rightful authority as a United States senator to slow down their civilian nominations and promotions from being confirmed…”
“So I’ve kept my word. The day they announced the new policy in February, I put what’s called a “hold” on their highest-level nominations and promotions. They can still be confirmed—but the Senate has to actually vote. That’s not too much to ask. Thus far this year the Senate has had more than 30 days off, plus weekends. The Senate hardly ever votes on anything of substance anymore. Yet the Democrats have lit their hair on fire over the idea that we should actually do our jobs and vote…”
“Democrats admit that I have the right to slow down nominations as a United States senator. I’m far from the first to do this. Democrats threatened to do the same exact thing not that long ago, and for far less important issues—including ensuring Colonel Vindman got promoted. Memories are short in Washington…”
“During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) asked a top combatant commander what impact my hold has on readiness. In response, the commander said ‘operationally’ the holds have ‘no impact’ because military leaders remain in their posts until they are replaced…”
“These officers earn approximately $244,000 a year in base wages and housing allowances. That’s nearly nine times the average income in Alabama, and clearly in the top 10 percent of incomes nationwide…”
“The real crisis is our military’s recruiting figures. In the 50 year history of our all-volunteer force, we’ve never missed our recruiting numbers: until last year. The Army missed its number by 15,000 recruits. That’s an entire division.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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