President Joe Biden took a swipe at Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and his effort to halt Department of Defense nominations.
Biden commented on the Alabama senator's feud with the Pentagon during a fundraiser in Los Gatos, California, according to the Hill. At the event, the president didn't mention Tuberville by name, referring to him as a “former football coach from Alabama.”
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“It’s bizarre. I don’t remember it happening before,” Biden said of Tuberville's blocking of nominations and promotions. “I know I don’t look like I’ve been around, but I’ve been around a long time.”
On Feb. 16, the DOD instituted its policy of paying for travel and time off for servicewomen who seek abortions. The policy was first announced in an Oct. 20 memo. Tuberville argued that aside from moral objections, the Pentagon's move was an illegal expansion of the department's authority. In response, he has moved to block all DOD officer nominees and promotions.
While unable to block the acceptance of the nominations and promotions completely, Tuberville's move has made the process far more time-consuming, clogging up hundreds of nominations. The Pentagon has complained that the move harms military readiness, a charge Tuberville rejects.
“If my colleague cared about military readiness, maybe we’d go after more of the ridiculous policies that have led to our lowest, our lowest recruitment numbers in decades. But my hold does send a message that the secretary is not — and I repeat, not — above the law. And he cannot ignore lawmakers who are demanding his organization abide by law," Tuberville said in March when he began his protest.
"I object and will continue to object to any nominees as long as this illegal new abortion policy is in place. I’m holding the military accountable. Others are holding our national security hostage by forcing their agenda where it doesn’t belong. Americans want a military focused on national defense, and that’s what I’m fighting for. For these reasons, I object.”
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The Alabama senator has since been joined in support by a slew of Republican senators, including Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Thune (R-SD), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Steve Daines (R-MT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Joni Ernst (R-IA). He has also been joined in support by House Republicans, including Reps. Barry Moore (R-AL), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Chip Roy (R-TX).
The Washington Examiner reached out to Tuberville's office for comment.