This is an opinion column.
Military generals and other flag officers shouldn’t be political football in Washington, D.C. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has suspended promotions for top military leaders over a Department of Defense policy ( DOD) which provides vacation and travel reimbursement for service members seeking an abortion. Unfortunately, neither Tuberville nor Biden seem interested in negotiating, and the US military will pay the price.
Under federal law, DOD funds and facilities can only be used to perform abortions when the mother’s life is in danger or in cases resulting from rape or incest. According to the DOD, a total of 91 abortions were performed at military medical treatment facilities between 2016 and 2021.
Following the Supreme Court decision Dobbs In the decision, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a policy providing for vacation and travel reimbursement for “uncovered reproductive health care,” which includes abortion services as well as in vitro fertilization.
To be clear, DOD funds are not directly available for abortions or other services not covered under the new policy. Tuberville’s objection is that the DOD’s logistical workaround is an illegal expense in pursuing elective abortions.
Like the majority of Tuberville voters, I believe that life is worth protecting from its earliest stages. Tuberville is absolutely right that the Biden administration has politicized the DOD when current federal law regarding abortion and the military is pretty clear.
Tuberville, along with his Republican Senate Armed Forces colleagues, asked Austin to explain the DOD’s claims that the Dobbs The decision impacted “the preparation, recruitment and retention implications for the Force”.
These calls went unanswered.
If the DOD has a factual basis for its claims, it should assert it with the federal oversight lawmakers. If the DOD is simply repeating Democratic talking points on abortion, then the policy change is a signal of political virtue that has little to do with military functionality.
For those unfamiliar with the process in the Senate, Tuberville’s “grip” essentially amounts to preventing the Senate from moving DOD appointments by unanimous consent. While senior members of the Senate often seem to grapple with the Herculean task of voting, Tuberville’s colleagues could easily override his objections by voting on the roughly 180 DOD nominations he holds. Based on the current way the Senate plans votes, the body could take a year or more to work through all the nominations.
If Austin and the Biden administration are unwilling to even answer basic questions about the rationale for the policy, they are clearly not open to compromising with Tuberville. Unfortunately, Tuberville hasn’t given himself much room to work with the administration on anything other than a complete reversal of the policy.
The DOD is not like other federal agencies. America faces many potential military conflicts around the world, and we simply cannot do without Senate-verified leadership. Our men and women in uniform who have earned these important promotions are not political pawns for Democrats or Republicans.
To that end, Tuberville should end its blanket stranglehold on all DOD appointments. Tuberville can clearly make his point by concentrating his grip on a smaller, targeted number of nominations. Ideally, Tuberville would direct his anger at Biden’s civilian political nominees for positions at DOD and other agencies.
The senior Alabama senator is also expected to propose an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to block the new DOD policy. Even if Senate Democrats reject such an amendment, sympathetic House Republicans could certainly include the measure for use in negotiating the final version of the NDAA passed by both legislative bodies.
Tuberville has plenty of options to make his point without backing down in his challenge to Biden’s policies.
We have reimagined our partisan political disagreements into a new type of warzone. It harms our nation. Even in the tough arena of federal politics, willingness to answer pointed questions and have a discussion is an essential professional courtesy. In this case, Biden’s DOD has repeatedly ignored Tuberville and Senate Republicans. Austin and the Biden administration should at least attempt a factual, military-focused rationale for DOD policy change.
Tuberville has every right to challenge Biden’s abortion access policies at the DOD, and the majority of his constituents agree with him. At the same time, they won’t appreciate Tuberville jeopardizing real military readiness by opposing a policy that has little to do with it.
Smith is a recovering political lawyer with four boys, two dogs, a bearded dragon, and an extremely patient wife. He is a partner of Triptych Media, a follower of business strategy and a regular on talk radio. Please direct outrage or agreement to [email protected] Or @DCameronSmith on Twitter.
