Sen. Kyrsten Sinema recently acknowledged the problem surrounding Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade on confirming U.S. military promotions, but the Arizona independent expressed confidence that there’s room for a compromise. “I know that Coach does not want to undermine the readiness of our United States military,” Sinema said, adding that the Biden administration should be flexible in the hopes of satisfying the Alabama Republican.
There were a variety of problems with the independent senator’s pitch, but Tuberville personally has shredded the idea that he’s open to some kind of agreement. AL.com reported late Friday:
Sen. Tommy Tuberville showed no signs of backing down from his holds on military promotions during an appearance on The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show, where he said he doesn’t care if anyone is promoted. “I don’t care if we promote anybody to be honest. We got 44 four-star generals right now. We only had seven during WWII, so I think we’re a little overloaded to begin with,” Tuberville said.
To be sure, the blanket holds are not new. The right-wing Alabaman has spent most of the year following through on his radical and unprecedented tactics, which apparently won’t end anytime soon.
What is new is Tuberville’s defense. The Republican senator has tried to defend his approach by taking aim at the Pentagon’s policy on travel reimbursements for U.S. troops who have to travel for reproductive care. Tuberville has said he’d be willing to allow the Senate to confirm pending military nominees — who have broad, bipartisan support — just as soon as the Defense Department eliminates these benefits for servicemembers and aligns military policies with his beliefs.
As regular readers know, this position has been rejected by U.S. military leaders. And retired military leaders. And veterans. And every living former secretary of Defense. And congressional Democrats. And the White House. And miliary spouses. And his own Republican colleagues. And a majority of people living in Alabama.
But last week, Tuberville’s position evolved in important ways. Originally, his defense related to abortion policy. Now the coach-turned-politician is pretending to understand the military, justifying his blockade by suggesting there’s no real need to promote these decorated military officers.
Indeed, as Pentagon officials have made clear that senator’s antics are currently undermining his own country’s military, the Republican has left little doubt that he doesn’t care about the consequences of his blockade.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed tends to be one of Capitol Hill’s most understated voices, but the Rhode Island Democrat issued a statement on Friday making clear that he was not pleased with Tuberville’s latest rhetoric.
“Senator Tuberville’s shocking admission that he ‘doesn’t care if they promote anybody’ is a smoking gun confession,” Reed said in a written statement.
“How can any U.S. senator not care about the promotions of honorable, hardworking military leaders who have dedicated their lives and careers to service?” the chairman added. “These are the best of the best and they risk their lives to defend our freedoms. Everyone should care and I hope Senator Tuberville will rethink his indifference and retract his statement.” He has not retracted his statement. Around the same time, Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed hope that Senate Republicans will eventually “get their colleague … to end his blockade.” The Virginia Democrat added that he believes there will come a point at which GOP senators “will not enable this destructive behavior” any longer. Tuberville turned to social media soon after with a two-word response: “Good luck.” Those who still believe the radical Alabaman is looking for a good-faith compromise should probably rethink those assumptions.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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