Four female Democratic lawmakers slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) for holding up some 250 military nominees in protest to a Defense Department abortion policy, accusing the Republican senator of using “women servicemembers as political pawns” in a culture war.
Reps. Mikie Sherrill (N.J.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Abigail Spanberger (Va.) joined the liberal veterans organizations VoteVets in another ad to attack Tuberville’s blockade on the Pentagon’s general and flag officers.
The Democratic lawmakers said Tuberville was trying to stop female servicemembers from traveling across state lines for reproductive healthcare, which they argued was a denial of basic medical rights provided to the military.
“And he’s holding hostage hundreds of military nominations that need Senate approval to get what he wants,” Slotkin said in the political ad.
Spanberger backed the warnings from the Biden administration and former Defense officials in arguing the hold on the nominees was affecting military readiness.
“Our enemies are watching one senator jeopardize our military readiness and risk our national security,” she said.
VoteVets released a similar political ad earlier this month warning about the impact of Tuberville’s hold on national security, shortly after the Marine Corps was left without a confirmed leader for the first time in more than a century.
Tuberville is unwilling to relent his hold unless the Pentagon drops the policy — which provides paid leave and reimburses travel costs for service members that cross state lines to get an abortion — or the policy is codified into law.
The Alabama senator has been holding up the nominees since March, ignoring heavy criticism from the Pentagon, the White House and former Defense and intelligence officials, arguing the policy is a violation of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from paying for abortion services.
Tuberville has been willing to let the backlog grow, with Joint Chiefs of Staff nominees expected to join the list in the comings months, and has reportedly dismissed off-ramps provided by concerned Republican colleagues. Last week, a Pentagon briefing on the abortion policy and its impact on readiness did little to change the senator’s mind.
In the political ad released Monday, the Democratic lawmakers flashed a picture of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and accused the Republican party of refusing to stand up to Tuberville.
“But we do,” Slotkin said. “We’re not going to let anyone use women service members as political pawns in their culture war.”