President Joe Biden has yet to reach out to senators who hold sole confirmation of the Department of Defense (DOD) despite the administration calling the blockade a “threat to our national security.” not
For months, the White House has accused Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of withholding confirmation from the Pentagon.tuber building pledged In February, he argued that the policy bypassed Congress and called for it to remain on hold until the Pentagon withdraws a new policy to fund military personnel traveling out of state for elective abortions. asked. This hold prevents many military nominations and promotions from being approved by unanimous consent. (Related: Republican senator blocks Pentagon promotion over abortion policy)
the tuber building Said While he was willing to call Biden to discuss the unprecedented hold on the Pentagon, the White House said there had been “zero” communication with him.
“Despite the fact that the White House is unwilling to come to the negotiating table to compromise, or answer the phone and call him, and continues to attack him in the media and in public, what? It’s frustrating that we haven’t heard from you,” a spokesperson for the city of Tuberville told the Daily Caller.
The White House’s lack of initiative “shows their hypocrisy,” the spokesman said, adding that Democrats “hope this issue will continue to be a problem.”
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 10: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) speaks to reporters on the Senate Subway at the Capitol in Washington, DC, July 10, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The White House has declined to say whether Biden will call senators, avoiding repeated questions on the issue.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in June Said The suspension is a “threat to national security,” but she said she was unable to “speak” into the conversation between Biden and Tuberville.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said Mr Tuberville was “deliberately undermining U.S. military preparedness in the name of selfish hype and extreme politics”, but Mr Biden He declined to say whether he would agree to a phone call with the senator.
“For months, Senator Tuberville has not only actively undermined our nation’s national security, but it has also affected mobility, whether our children go to school, whether our spouses It has injected uncertainty into the lives of hundreds of military families who don’t even know where they can work,” Bates added in a statement. “Military families are not pawns. His scorched-earth strategy also deprived the Marine Corps of its first Senate-approved commander in over a century, halted the promotion of deserving military personnel, and forced each branch of the military to add more every day. The damage is cascading.Senator Tuberville needs to listen to his colleagues in both parties and put his country before himself.”
If the White House were ‘really concerned about the preparations’, they would have contacted him, says Tuberville Said CNN on Monday.
Tuberville said on Tuesday the White House didn’t want to address him directly because Democrats were “fearful” of the abortion vote.
“They are [Democrats are] It’s almost an election year, so that’s scary. They know there are some bad votes. This is not to protect the military. This is not about doing the right thing for the American people. It’s to make sure Democrats are doing everything in their power not to give senators who are up for re-election next year bad votes on abortion. Because some people have to vote against this policy, it’s all about power. ” Tuberville Said In “The John Solomon Report”.
