U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville is now receiving criticism from one of the Republican candidates for president over his continued blockade of military promotions.
Tuberville (R-Auburn) has placed a hold on Pentagon general and flag officer promotions due to the Department of Defense’s decision to pay for abortion-related expenses for servicemembers with taxpayer dollars.
Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said on the Hugh Hewitt radio show that, while she doesn’t like Biden’s abortion policy, she also doesn’t like Tuberville’s approach to countering it.
2024 GOP candidate Nikki Haley criticizes Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) ongoing hold on high-level military confirmations over DoD abortion policy:
“I appreciate what Tuberville’s trying to do … But have we gotten so low that this is how we have to go about stopping it?” pic.twitter.com/L2jlyL7gHH
— The Recount (@therecount) August 8, 2023
“I mean, you look at the fact that the Department of Defense shouldn’t be doing this in the first place,” Haley said. “But there’s got to be other ways to go about doing this.”
Haley discussed some other ways this could be handled.
“I appreciate what Tuberville’s trying to do. I do,” she said. “Like, it’s totally wrong that the Department of Defense is doing this. But have we gotten so low that this is how we have to go about stopping it? At what point can we not go and have congressional members go to the Department of Defense and say ‘look, you have to go through Congress if you’re going to do this. You can’t suddenly decide if you’re going to do this. Don’t make us have to do this.’
“I just think it shouldn’t get to this point.”
Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, sai this approach adds too much unneeded pressure to those serving the military.
“For my husband who’s serving overseas, and for all those military men and women, the idea that this is what they’re looking back and seeing, and this is what they are dealing with on top of the stresses of keeping themselves safe and being away from their families, it’s wrong,” she said.
According to NBC News, Tuberville spokesman Steven Stafford responded to Haley’s criticism saying, “She regrets that it is necessary but doesn’t seem to dispute that it is indeed necessary.”
Tuberville has received support from GOP presidential candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“They are basically being told by the Biden administration to do this. This is not consistent with long-standing U.S. law,” DeSantis said on Fox News this month. “And I think it plays into a larger problem that we have seen in the military. You have a lot of civilians forcing them to engage in political and culture issues that are detracting from mission. This is one of them.”
Tuberville has endorsed former President Donald Trump in the 2024 primary election.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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