'It’s very disruptive': Democrats rip Tommy Tuberville for playing political games with the military

31 March 2023

At a time when the abortion issue is causing Republicans to lose statewide races in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is doubling down on his anti-abortion views by trying to prevent women in the U.S. military from having abortions. The GOP senator has been blocking military promotions as a way of voicing his opposition to a Pentagon directive that gives members of the U.S. Armed Forces access to abortion services.

One Democrat who is calling Tuberville out forcefully is Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Reed told Punchbowl News, "One thing we can't do is allow military nominations to be political tokens. Because what goes around, comes around. Next week, it'll be somebody else…. It's very disruptive to the military both in terms of the readiness and the leadership, but also, in terms of the families and the decision to stay and serve. So, we have to work this out, and it has to be a reasonable solution. Demanding a policy change is not reasonable."

In a March 31 tweet, Punchbowl's Andrew Desiderio noted that "it takes a lot to get Jack Reed worked up." But when it comes to what Reed views as Tuberville playing political games with the U.S. military, the Rhode Island Democrat is "livid."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is speaking out as well. Schumer told Punchbowl News, "Sensible Republicans, maybe quietly, will go to Tuberville and say: this is a real danger to American security and a loser for the Republican Party…. If one person plays this game, everyone is going to play this game… If everyone did it, we'd wreck the military. We'd have no military."

Read Punchbowl News’ full report at this link.

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