U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is blocking the quick promotion of the top military aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, accusing the aide of not notifying President Joe Biden when Austin was hospitalized earlier this year.
Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark was nominated to become commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific.
“Sen. Tuberville has concerns about Lt. Gen. Clark’s actions during Secretary Austin’s hospitalization,” Tuberville spokesperson Mallory Jaspers told CNN. “Lt. Gen. Clark knew that Sec. Austin was incapacitated and did not tell the Commander in Chief. As a senior commissioned officer, Lt. Gen. Clark’s oath requires him to notify POTUS when the chain of command is compromised.”
The senator’s hold comes a year after he blocked hundreds of military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Tuberville said to Newsmax Tuesday that Clark should face consequences for not doing his job.
"Folks, we are in bad trouble. Our country is in flames right now, and we can't afford another four years of this debacle of the Democrats and the Biden-Harris regime."
— Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville@TTuberville @ShaunKraisman @KatieMcCallTV pic.twitter.com/GhV6anV1eC
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) September 10, 2024
“Yeah, you might be qualified, but if you can’t make a good decision while you’re in a job that’s responsible for something, then you’ve got problems,” Tuberville argued. “I mean, he was very close to Lloyd Austin, he was on his staff, and he made the decision not to let the Commander-in-Chief, Joe Biden, or anybody else, know that he was in the hospital.”
According to the Associated Press, Pentagon spokesperson James Adams said the hold could effect “military readiness.”
“Lt. Gen. Clark is highly qualified and was nominated for this critical position because of his experience and strategic expertise,” Adams said in a statement. “We urge the Senate to confirm all of our qualified nominees.”
Tuberville said Clark withholding important information is the true threat to national security.
“I mean, we’re in a dangerous world, and the Department of Defense needs to be hitting on all cylinders,” he continued. “This guy made a decision, ‘I’m not going to tell anybody. We’re going to work our way through this and maybe nobody will find out.’ He’s going to pay the price for this.”
He also said that he will not lift the hold until they “have the full review.”
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
